


Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

by FrozenHearts



Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Action, Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Another multi chapter thing i hope i finish lol, Awkward Flirting, Awkwardness, Bad Flirting, Bayonetta References, Canon - Video Game, Canon Compliant, Curse Breaking, Curses, Daddy Issues, Demon Summoning, Demons, Devil May Cry 5 (Game), Devil May Cry 5 Spoilers, Fairy Tale Elements, First Kiss, First Meetings, Flirting, Gen, Getting Together, Griffon is like an overprotective parent, Kidnapping, Kissing, Love Confessions, M/M, Magic, Male-Female Friendship, Misunderstandings, One-Sided Attraction, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Rapunzel Elements, Rescue, Resident Evil references, Sickfic, Sleeping Beauty Elements, Snow White Elements, Strangers to Lovers, True Love's Kiss, Uncle Dante (Devil May Cry), V is his own character, Vergil is a diiiiick, Video Game Mechanics, basically a flirt-fic, can u tell i don't know how to flirt, dante flirts for nero
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2019-11-19 08:56:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 26,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18133634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrozenHearts/pseuds/FrozenHearts
Summary: Nero isn't entirely sure what to do about Nico's new twist on his arm, but he won't let it stop him from protecting that super hot guy who definitely doesn't scare him slightly from getting eaten by demons





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello I love V and who honestly is surprised at this point gothic tattooed jesus sandal man can get it tbh

Nero isn't entirely sure what to do about Nico's new twist on his arm, but he wasn't about to let it stop him from jumping out of the van and rushing to a horde of demons, screaming at the top of his lungs. Of course, Dante was going to yell at him and call him some less than savory things for it later, but from what he saw, there was a hot guy in dire straights and Nero felt it necessary to go save him.

He wasn't entirely sure what he was gonna do with a pasta twirler on the end of his mechanical wrist, but he made do, grinning at Nico's gnashing teeth as he presented it to her an hour later; it was full of demon gunk and he knew as well as anyone that shit was difficult to get out. As Nico grumbled, snatching the piece from the window, Nero made a show of kicking the door open with his foot, startling the man he was currently carrying.

"Dante!" Nero shouted, shouldering himself inside the van, "Get your sorry ass off the couch, we got company!"

A rush of footsteps and a squeal of boots, and Dante appeared, wielding a rather large, glowing sword. Nero felt the man in his arms tense as he witnessed Dante nearly slice the couch in the van trying to get his weapon out and ready.

"Any demons left, squirt?" Dante grinned, flicking strands of silver hair out of his eyes with his free hand.

"Nah," Nero smirked, "Got a friend who needs help. Thought he could use the couch."

Nero knew how it must have looked; him, in all his demon fighting glory in a bloodied blue coat and missing an arm, his white hair spattered gray with demon guts; in his arms a (very handsome and slightly terrifying) young man looking about ready to swoon in his arms like the cover of a romance novel. Slowly, he skirted around Dante, swinging teh man's feet to avoid the edge of Dante's blade before setting him down on the couch. The man was quiet, watching intensely under a fringe of dark hair that Nero couldn't resist sweeping away with his human fingers.

"You okay?" Nero asked. The man gave a shrug, not moving away from the hand, but still glaring.

"I had it handled," the man said, his voice low and buttery smooth and Nero had to do everything in his willpower not to bust a nut right there. Did this guy know the effect his voice had? On him? On other people? From the corner of his eye, Nero caught the quick surprise flashing on Dante's face before he schooled it into a more cocky expression; a raised eyebrow and a click of the tongue.

Smooth, Dante. Real smooth. The man seemed to thankfully not have noticed or was pretending not to notice as he frowned, "But I thank you for assisting us. May I go now?"

"The whole city is a demon-infested pile of shit, where would you go?" Dante snorted, crossing his arms in a way he probably thought looked cool. Nero rolled his eyes- the leather in Dante's coat was thin at the seams, the red color faded and worn from use. He hoped one of the arms would tear- that would teach him not to buy eight thousand dollar jackets when he could barely afford rent.

"I'll find somewhere," the man said, "I am but two days old, after all. I have a lot of time."

"If y'all are done with the cryptic shit I gotta get back there and fix this bitch up!" Nico shouted from the driver seat.

"That's what you get for giving me a goddamned fork to work with!" Nico shouted back, not taking his eyes off their new guest.

"It's a work of art!" Nico was insisting, "I am a goddamned artist and you will respect my work!"

Dante cleared his throat, "Well, Mr. Born Yesterday- you got a name to go with that face?"

Nero paled, "Oh my god, Dante, stop flirting-"

"You were the one who made us stop to get him, kid," Dante retorted, "if anyone is flirting, it's you."

The man grinned, cocking his head and pursing his lips (his very full, very pink lips, Nero's mind was not helpful in adding), "Is that what this is? You rescue the damsel in distress, we kiss and ride off into the sunset on your specialized arm?"

Christ. Christ on a cracker and everything in between, this was not helping. Dante's smug laugh was not helping, this guy's smooth as silk voice and shiny hair and pretty eyes were not helping. Nico harping in the background about taking better care of her babies in battle was not helping and Nero just really wanted the ground to swallow him up whole, was that too much to ask? He couldn't leave the guy hanging, though.

Quick, Nero, he thought, running a hand through his hair, think of something quick! Something witty!

"We can if you want to."

Dante barked a laugh accompanied by Nico's surprised hoot in the front of the van and Nero knew he was done for.

"Maybe another time," the man drawled, "for the city never sleeps and time is always fleeting."

Nero nodded, stepping back as the man pushed himself off the couch, only to rush forward and catch him as his knees buckled, sending him to the floor.

"You're already falling all over him, why not kiss now?" Dante piped up, watching from where he leaned against the wall. His sword sat forgotten next to him, the blade no longer glowing. Nero rolled his eyes, sending a glare his uncle's way.

"Are you flirting with him for me?" he asked, exasperated, "Really?"

"What?" Dante shrugged, "I know I'm old enough to be both your dads but he's a hottie. Could give me a run for my money."

"I cannot believe you!"

"Believe it, baby."

"Not to break up a lover's spat-" the man interrupted.

"Gross!" came Nico's yell from the front of the van.

"-but I would very much like to get off the floor of this van and we can perhaps discuss whatever you're doing another day?"

 Nero and Dante exchanged glances before nodded, Dante moving to grab the man's other arm and help him up. The man, while lean, was in no way skinny; his arms were toned to perfection, black ink swirling across his skin like paint. The lines ran from his arms to his torso, even going so far to wrap around his neck and dash across his fingers. He could see a few cracks here and there, small scars that marred his body as they helped him move. 

\-------

"You like him, don't ya?"

V rolled his eyes at Griffon. After relenting to Nero and his friends hospitality, they set him up in what was modt likely Nico's "bedroom"- the sheets were frilled and sketches of snakes and butterflys and tribal imahes scattered every available surface. Griffon thought they were for some more tattoo ideas, considering the woman was generously inked. The window was decorated with sheer blue curtains, slightly stained and worn but it did the job of allowing V some semblance of privacy. 

There was the smell of oil and smoke coming from the little workshop she had set up on the other side of the room, but the van was not exactly the biggest space and V couldn't complain; he was surprised Nico had managed to fit a mattress in to begin with. Shadow was currently curled up at his feet, fur crackled with stripes of red as she sniffed at one of Nico's sketchbooks. Griffon was perched on the desk, claws digging into the wooden edge.

"Hmmm?" V hummed, "You'll havr to be more specific."

"The flirty one with the white hair-" Griffon started, ruffling his feathers.

V clicked his tongue, "If I recall correctly, they both were flirty with white hair."

"Uh-huh. And I'm the Pope!" Griffon cawed, "You know which one I mean, stop being an edgy idiot."

At this, V grinned, "Surely, I don't know what you mean."

"I don't know if I'm seeing things, but if the bird is Shirley, I'm gonna hurl," came a voice. V turned his head to see one of the flirty white haired men standing where the doorframe would be, leaning with his hip cocked against the wall.

"Name's Griffon and this a private conversation buckaroo!" Griffon snapped, hopping angrily in place. The man chuckled, sauntering near the bed anyway, despite Shadow having picked up her head to growl at him. 

"There's enough room in this rodeo for two cowboys, Chicken Little, don't get your feathers ruffled," the man eyed Shadow warily before sitting himself down on the edge of the bed. V tensed at the sgifted weight, pulling his foot back from the dip of the mattress. 

"You feeling okay?" the man asked, "You took quite a spill back there."

V nodded, rubbing at his knee, "I'm fine, no need to worry."

The man nodded, biting his lip, "Right. Can I ask what got you caught in a snack trap for those demons?"

A shrug. V looked away, anywhere but the man's expectant face- over the man's shoulder he could see a sleek blue arm sitting on Nico'a work table. Next to it was the dinky arm the other man had skewered the demons with before, sitting cracked and gunked up despite Nico claiming it was a top priority piece. 

"Nothing of consequence, I assure you," V finally said, "Nothing I couldn't handle."

Griffon cackled, "You mean nothing Shadow and I couldn't handle!"

"Griffon!" V hissed at the bird.

The man sat patiently, looking between the two of them, "So what's the story then? He fights for you or-"

"Griffon and Shadow are my familiars," V cut him off sharply, "That is all you need to know...?"

"Dante," the man supplied with a grin. Up close, V could see his teeth were blindingly white, two rows of perfect pearls and for a second he wondered how anyone in this "profession" could afford such admirable dental care. His hair was another story, more silver than the white it probably once was. Green and red gore still streaked bits of it here and there, old stains he hadn't probably bothered to clean out before a fight before they found him. 

"Well, Dante," V squared his shoulders, "I am grateful for you and your friends help, but I must go."

"You just woke up after being attacked by demons and you want to leave?" Dante said, "Not a great idea, if you ask me."

"It's a good thing I didn't ask, then," V retorted, uncurling his legs to get up from the bed. Shadow jumped down gracefully, flicking her tail as she followed suit. A purple glow appeared and soon she was slithering back onto his skin, squirming around his torso to rest just over his ribs. 

"That's.... new," he heard Dante mumble in awe as he skirted around him. He could feel Dante's eyes on him as he moved, "Is that a witch thing? Are you a witch? Because I have a friend who could do that with her hair, and you look a bit like her-"

"I am not a witch, I can promise you that," V found himself almost yelling, but he found he didn't actually care. "Have you seen my cane?"

Hands raised defensively, Dante shook his head, "No, but Nero might have."

V grit his teeth, fingers curling into fists. He raised it, arm trembling only to let his hand fall uselessly at his side. It wouldn't do to get angry now. These people were only trying to help him and it wouldn't do for him to turn possible allies into enemies. 

Especially Nero, V happily supplied a name to a face. Nero with the bright smile, who appeared out of nowhere as he was surrounded by hordes of lesser demons, quick to shield him as more tried to tug at his clothes, claw at his skin. He still felt a slight tremor in his knee from where he fell earlier, and he could still feel the cut one of the demons had managed to inflict before Nero had so graciously jumped in to save him. 

"I kinda agree with this guy, V," Griffon chimed in, "You've been sick for a while. Those demons took out more of you than you can afford."

V let himself lean avainst the work table, elbow nudging the new arms. The metal was cold against his skin, making him shiver. He knew Griffon was right- he was deteriorating and fighting those demons had been the last straw for today.

Hanging his head, V gripped the edge of the table tightly, guiding himself to sit cross-legged on the floor. His chest suddenly felt heavy, breath coming in pinched gasps.

"V?" Dante's voice was flooded with concern, the tone raspy, almost comforting. "You alright?"

V squeezed his eyes shut, "I'll be fine-"

"Stop saying that!" Griffon was suddenly on him, claws scratching at his shoulders and tangling in his hair, "Shut up and let them help you!

V knew it must have looked odd to Dante- who just summons animals from their tattoos? Then again, he watched the other white haired man fly around on an arm that became a hoverboard, laser cannon and shot gun at will.

Nothing out of the ordinary. 

A creak sounded and V and Dante looked up just as they saw Nico jump into the driver seat and flip open the glove box, rooting around as she muttered under her breath. 

"I'll go ask if Nero found your cane," Dante's grip was firm but soft as he helped V up, "For now you should listen to your pet chicken and get some more beauty sleep."

"I don't need to sleep," V groaned as Dante guided him back to the bed, "I'm fine-"

"I got 'im, Cowboy," V heard Griffon say, fidning himself sinking back into the mattress- was Nico's bed this comfortable when he first laid down on it? The blanket was drawn up to his chin and this time he let his eyes droop closed, not managing to catch whatever else Griffon or Dante was saying before succumbing to sleep entirely. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter up on the same day! Maybe I'll update my Resi 2 fanfic soon, it's been a hot sec since I've done that
> 
> Happy St. Patrick's Day!
> 
> Did anyone catch the Bayonetta reference in the first chapter, by the way?

Honestly, Nero knew they couldn't really afford to stop and help any stragglers they came across while trying to go fight Mundus. Or Vergil. Or Riot or any of the demonic monstrosities that seemed to come their way. Casualties happened and this one shouldn't have been any different.

But for some reason, it was. They had been crossing the bridge out of Red Grave City when Nero spotted the guy and despite still having the pasta breaker attatched to his stupid stumpy arm he just up and went for it. 

Now, as he ambled back to the van with the guy's cane in hand, he couldn't believe he had been so stupid. Thr guy was really pretty- like, give Aphrodite a run for her money pretty- and of course stupid comments about kissing had to fly out of his mouth. And of course, his uncle just had to try and get in on the action but credit where credit was due: Dante definitely knew how to get someone into bed. 

Nero was hoping he'd get this guy into bed another way, but nursing him back to health before dumping him on the side of the road and never seeing him again was probably a better second impression than trying to automatically get in his pants.

His tight, shiny leather pants....

"Hey, Romeo!" Nico barked, shaling him from his thoughts as they climbed back into the van, "You gonna stop drooling or let me fix my baby?"

Blinking, Nero absentmindedly undid the arm from his stump, dutifully handing it over. The look in Nico's eye was downright frightening as he watched her take a long whiff, petting the exposed wire and half-screwed bolts lovingly with gentle fingers.

"Are you gonna fix it or make love to it?" Nero snickered, plopping himself down in the passenger seat.

"I know I don't got many rules, but I do have one: no fucking in my van."

Nero scoffed, planting his feet on the dashboard, "Does that apply to humans, demons or inanimate objects?"

Nico didn't answer, choosing to glare at him from over her glasses. The frames were slightly dented on the left arm, but Nero knew Nico would leave it alone unless they were in dire disrepair. It was hard finding a good eye doctor these days to get new perscription lenses anyway.

"All I'm sayin' is don't go scaring him off with your heart eyes," Nico teased. "Poor thing looks like he could bowl over with a light breeze, he doesn't need a big hunking man to woo him in the middle of the apocalypse."

Nero grinned, "Awww, you think I'm a big hunking man?"

Nico was blushing, pushing her glasses up the bridge if her nose as she managed to splutter out an indignant, "Shut up!"

"Admit it, you like me," Nero said.

"I like your arm," was Nico's reply, "There's a difference. A business partnership and mutual understanding."

"Uh-huh. You keep telling yourself that."

There was a beat of silence. Nero watched as Nico pried her fingers into the wiring of the arm; even with perfectly manicured and longer than necessary nails, the polish remained pristine and shiny. Not a single chip appeared as she tugged out one wire and plugged another in. Her knuckles expertly sat against the edge as she fiddled with bolts, not bothered by the risk of tetanus or any other disease that came from handling rusted metals. The demon gunk was the worst- pieces of yellow, green and red gunk that oozed like pus and stuck like glue. 

"Open a window, will ya?" Nico said, "You did a right job with this here arm, it will take me a while to fix."

"So?"

Nico stopped working, turning to give him an almost bored stare, "Really? We risk our tails for Goth Gabe over there and now you won't even talk to him?"

Nero stared at her until he realized she meant him. The man's can was resting on the console between the seats, thebailver raven figurehead glinting in the light. 

"He needs resting," Nero grumbled, reaching out to rin his fingers along the dark wood of the staff. It felt weirdly soft, the grains swirling in the wood like the man's tattoos. 

His really, really rad tattoos. 

Nico looked at him pointedly, an eyebrow raised so high it disappeared into her already higher hairline. 

"Fine, fine, I'm going," Nero sighed, grabbing the cane and dragging himself to his feet. 

Before he could even take a step, however, his uncle came rushing in, red coat billowing behind him as he caught himself on the back of the passenger seat. 

"Dante?" Nero asked, "Everything okay?"

Dante pursed his lips, leaning on the passenger seat like one would a wall. Nodding, he said, "Yeah, yeah. S' all cool, all cool." He rubbed his chin, adding "Your guy woke up too. Fell back asleep though, but did you know about his tattoos?"

Nero scoffed, "He's covered in them, Dante, we know he has them."

"Trust me, they aren't tattoos." Nero jolted as Dante clapped him half-heartedly on the back, sending him lurching forward, "Alright! You two have fun! Don't do anything I wouldn't do and use protection!"

Nero knew his face was glowing red as he marched towards the back of the van, ignoring Nico's loud laugh as he approached the bed Nico had set up.

"Oy, V!" a harsh voice sounded, "Wake up, sleepy head!"

"Who said that?" Nero asked, eyes darting around the room. It sounded too close to be behind Nico's work table, but he couldn't see anyone aside from the man laying tucked under the blanket-

"Over here, birdbrain!" the voice was right in his ear, making Nero jump as a large blue bird landed on his shoulder, sharp claws digging into his skin through the leather of his jacket.

"Listen, he's still tired, but whatever you do, you cannot let V leave," the bird ordered, "You got that?"

Swallowing, Nero nodded. The bird nodded, hopping off his shoulder to land on the desk. The man- V, Nero guessed- stirred in his sleep, rolling over so he was facing Nero. His hair hung in his eyes, brushing the tip of his nose. His chest rose evenly as he slept, and Nero thought he could hear a slight whistle with each exhale. 

"You gonna make googly eyes at him or you gonna sit down?" the bird cawed, "There's room on the edge of the bed, but don't get any ideas! I'm watching you, Nemo!"

"It's Nero?" Nero said, "Where'd you come from, anyway? Last I checked, Nico didn't have pets."

The bird bobbed its head, "And I'm the Prime Minister! I ain't a pet, buddy, I'm a familiar. And if you get any ideas, I'll claw your eyes out."

"Right! Got it!" Nero squeaked, gingerly taking a seat on the edge of the bed, V rolling slightly with the added weight. 

Even with the bird boring death glares into the back of his skull, Nero didn't mind. V looked kind of cute, sleeping all curled up under the blanket- the baby blue color offset his skin nicely, making the tattoos on his neck pop alongside the cracks in his skin.

He wasn't sure what that was about, but Nero could sense something from them, some sort of energy wafting from him, emanating from every pore. Nero thought it felt almost familiar but wasn't entirely sure how to place it. 

Maybe he'd ask when V woke up. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit shorter than the other chapter, but I hope you like it nonetheless! I'm sorry about the lack of Shadow in this chapter, I just really enjoy writing Griffon and his quips. 
> 
> Dante's a bit more difficult for me to write but I hope he's written okay


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Third chapter! Woot woot! I finished the game today and I loved it!
> 
> I plan on editing this story once it's finished so i apologize for anything that's misspelled or feels disjointed in the chapter.

"Okay, so what exactly do we know about this guy?" Dante garbled around a mouthful of fries. Nico was sitting behind her work table, drumming her fingers on the warped wood as Nero leaned against it. After collecting V, they'd decided to keep driving, trying (and failing) to ignore the squawking blue griffon that had taken to flying around the van and annoying everyone.

"Anyone know where the chicken came from?" Nico asked a little too loudly. They all froze as they watched V shift in his sleep, and if Nero squinted he could just make out gnashed teeth and a pinched brow. Under the lights, V's skin was glimmering with sweat and Nero knew he was tired, but he was pretty sure those tattoos were moving. 

"The tattoos are what get me most," Dante swallowed, rubbing his chin, "I really should call Bayonetta, I think she might be able to handle him better than we can."

"And deprive lover-boy of making an idiot of himself?" Nico snorted, "No way."

"Hey!" Nero exclaimed, "I did not make an idiot if myself!"

"Uh-huh," Nico rolled her eyes. Nero looked desperately at Dante, the man simply shrugging and taking more fries. Groaning, Nero let his head thunk against the table as he muttered curses under his breath. Of course his friend was going to expose him like this. Of course his uncle was going to go along with it. Turning his head, he ignored the twinge in his neck to see V nuzzling his face into the pillow; Griffon flapped his wings, perched on the desk as he squawked loud enough to make V jolt awake and crash in a tangle of limbs and blankets to the floor.

"Good morning!" Dante jeered as Nero jumped to help him up. "Feeling better?"

Nero glared at his uncle before reaching out to V, "Need help there buddy?"

"Fine," V mumbled, wincing slightly as Nero placed his prosthetic hand on his shoulder. He could feel the bone rough under the skin, under his fingers the tattoos stark against his pale skin. A cough, and V was doubled over, Nero carefully pulled him up, rubbing his back in small circles until the hacking subsided. He could feel everyone's eyes on him as he reached for the blanket, pulling it around V's shoulders, rubbing his arms to warm the guy up.

"Nico, we got any soup in the pantry?" Nero jutted his chin at his friend, "Something to warm him up. You got any allergies?"

"I don't know," V was quiet, "I am but two days old."

"Is he serious?" Dante pointed at him, a fry hanging limp in his fingers, "Are you serious?"

"Oh my god, you cradle robber!" Nero was shoved away by Griffon's claws, the bird flapping his wings furiously- the blue and black feathers were falling from the animal, littering the floor and V's lap. "I knew you were no good! Stay away from him!" Thankfully the blanket wasn't upset from V's shoulders, but Nero pushed the thought quickly from his mind to raise his arm as a shield from Griffon's barrage of claws and a stabbing beak.

From the corner of his eye, Nero saw Dante's face fall with confusion, then his eyes widen with glee, "Oh my god! V's a baby!"

"Listen, you better clean up after him, maintenance on a van is expensive enough," Nico added.

"I can assure you, I'm a fully formed adult-" V almost growled.

"Not at two days old, buddy," Dante grinned, "Nero, you have to make sure he goes to bed on time, I don't think daddy dearest there can handle you with his kid."

Scowling, Nero finally managed to bat Griffon away, frowning at the scratches left on his Devil Breaker. The blue metal was marred with deep silver gouges, a few of the red and yellow wires winking up at him from titanium alloy and silver joints. He could see wisps of black emanating from where Griffon scratched the arm, the same color as V's tattoos and for a second, he could feel the same energy he felt before when V had fallen off the couch.

Damn, Nero realized. V had a tendency to fall off things, now that he thought about it.

"What time is it now?" Dante asked, cutting into Nero's thoughts. Nero shrugged.

"Probably three in the afternoon?" Nero suggested, "Why?"

"Nico, can you stop by a grocery store?" Dante turned to the mechanic, who was inspecting her nails with a dash of boredom on her face.

"Need me to pick up baby his bottle?" Nico snorted. Dante snapped his fingers, flinging his fingers to get any left-over grease off them. Nico went to yell at him, but it didn't really make a difference as the table was covered in scrap material and machine oil anyway. V had gone silent, eyebrow raised with disdain as Dante and Nico tossed jokes back and forth. Sighing, Nero flipped his uncle off, ignoring Griffon demanding he "Get back here, punk!" amidst Dante yelling something about reading V a bed-time story.

This was gonna be a long trip.

\-------

The grocery store ended up not being too long of a trip.

Dante was quick to get in and quick to get out, grabbing V to help him pick and choose things he might like. He ignored Nero's uncomfortable glare as he dragged V out of the van with him (much to Griffon's annoyance, but he didn't really care) and into the store, pulling him into aisles and grabbing things off shelves that this skinny twig of a guy might like to eat and won't die from.

"This is all unnecessary," V said as Dante was eyeing the ground beef, "You saved me from the demon and I'm grateful, but I really must go-"

"Actually that was Nero who saved you from the demon, I wanted us to keep going," Dante said, "But he likes you, so you're stuck with us for now, I guess. Hey- if I shove this in my coat, you think they'll notice?"

"You mean you've been stealing?" V admonished, "You could get us in trouble!"

"Keep your voice down and listen to your elders," Dante was blase as he snatched one of the pakcages off the rack, slipping it as discreetly as possible while turning on his heel to amble towards the freezer section of the store. Dante could hear the click of V's cane on the shiny linoleum, a rapid tap-tap-tap as he struggled to keep up with Dante's long strides. The glass doors were fogged, barely offering a glance at what was inside but Dante didn't mind, grabbing the nearest handle and yanking the door open with enough force to yank it straight off its hinges.

Thankfully it didn't and Dante almost choked on a laugh as it slammed in V's face, the man barely catching himself with his cane as he staggered backwards.

"Didn't dent your 'do there, did I?" Dante teased, reaching in blindly until his hand brushed something cold; the condensation sticking to his skin told hi it was a hug of milk, so he swiped it, careful to make it look as flat as possible under his coat while V busied himself with his hair. It was nice hair, sweeping across his forehead with inky black strands, the color seeping almost like a black hole- intoxicating to look at paired with the guy's pale complexion and pretty face.

He could see what Nero liked about the guy now. It still didn't explain the tattoos. Or the familiars.

Or the fact that he didn't deny he was only two fucking days old.

"You know, if you really are two days old, why not make yourself look younger?" Dante asked.

"I can't change at will," V scoffed, "I don't know why you think my familiars are so-"

"Ah, but I wasn't talking about your 'familiars' though!" Dante slammed the freezer door shut with his foot, "Let's go, I have no idea if Nico has a fridge in that van of hers."

"Are you seriously not going to pay?" Dante felt V smack his ankles with the cane, a quick motion that dug into skin, making him stumble.

"What?" Dante said, "If Nero didn't like you so much I'd kick your ass right here, two days old or not!"

V's face paled, the tell-tale signs of a blush creeping into his cheeks as he managed to scowl, limping his way down the aisle with every angry tap of his cane.

With V's retreating form, however, Dante didn't notice the cut on his face from being slammed into the door, his skin crackling like paper as red and black gook oozed from the wound.

He was quick to catch up and steer him away from the register, assuring V it was alright to sneak out the staff entrance to get back to the van.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new chapter! Woo-hoo!
> 
> I keep saying I'm gonna updste my Resi 2 fic and then I Don't™ I'm sorry

The minute V walked back into the van, Griffon was all over Dante, V giggling as the bird's talons got tangled in his stark white hair. 

"I told ya! I told ya!" Griffon was furious, dodging V's clumsy fingers as he tried to get a hold of Griffon, "Stay away from guys like this, V!"

"You're squawking is not helping, Griffon," V was curt, a triumphant glare in his eye as he finally managed to snatch one of Griffon's legs. With a free hand, V gingerly poked at his face, alarm flooding his eyes as the tips.of his fingers came away a reddish black.

"You'd think I deflowered him or something, geez," Dante muttered, adding a quick "Must have happened when the door slammed in your face" as he slowly made his way to the couch, ignoring the stash he had hidden under his coat; meat and milk fell to the floor, the carton spilling open to create a sleek white river on the van floor.

"Dante, the milk!" V chastised him under his breath but he didn't make a move to stop it, instead guiding Dante to sit on the couch pushed up against the wall. Cocking his head, V smirked, "Are you ready, then?"

Dante shrugged, "What for?"

V jutted his chin at Griffon, "It might hurt. Might leave some scratches."

"Trust me, I'm a big boy," Dante snorted, "Show me what these magic hands of yours can do."

A small laugh followed by the shake of V's head and Dante was rolling his eyes. Griffon had resorted to mumbling under his breath, but thankfully the bird was staying as still as possible. Dante could still feel the tips of Griffon's claws against his scalp, a light scratch but nothing more. 

"Well," V said as his laughing subsided, "don't say I didn't warn you."

\-------

Nero looked up from where he sat on Nico's bed, the sound of the door slamming jolting him awake. Glancing over at the workbench, he could see Nico fast asleep- she was slumped over one if her older Devil Breakers (the Tomboy, if he remembered correctly), a slight sheen of drool falling dowm her face to pool on the table. 

Slowly, Nero pushed himself off thr bed, wincing at the slight groan the mattress made before he planted his feet fully on the floor. From the corner of his eye, he could see Nico stir-

-and breathed a sigh if relief when she simply babbled unintelligbly before letting out a snire that would probably attract every demon within a one hundred mile radius. Squaring his shoulders, Nero crept towards the hall, just ablemto make out a few voices in the front of the van.

"....eave some scratches," he could hear V quite clearly, the smooth baritone sending a shiver down Nero's spine. Nero closed his eyes, sighing as he heard a flurry of wings and realized he didn't hear Griffon anymore.

Funny. The bird seemed to be overly protrctive dof V, ready to attack.on sight. Maybe he was hurt? Was a wing damaged?

Placing his hand against the wall, he made his way farther down in the dark- a second voice had joined V's, and there was no way Nero could mistske that deep laugh for anyone else's. 

"I'm a big boy," came Dante's signature drawl, that voice he tended to use when picking up girls at a bar, "Show me what those magic hands can do."

Nero barely heard what came next before he was barrelling down the hall, a barrage of images racing through his mind. The hallway seemed to narrow as Nero spotted the couch against the wall, two figures sitting uncomfortably close on the dingy cushions. A tall, lean figure was leaning over the other and Nero found himself lunging as he heard another sultry laugh, the pull of what was probably a shirt over someone's head-

"-What?" He panted, stopping just short of crashing into the couch, a loud yell escaping Dante as V all but yanked what looked like Griffon's claws from Dante's head in surprise. 

"Ow! Damn it, V!" Dante growled, pushing V away roughly, "You said it wouldn't hurt!"

"I did, you just don't know how to listen!" V shot back, a hand splayed against his chest as he let go of Griffon. "You said you could handle it!"

"I didn't think you were gonna rip my head off with your stupid animal!"

"Oi! I'm a familiar! Get it right!" 

Nero opened his mouth, only to close it as he felt the blood drain from his face. Both men were breathing heavily and Griffon was now resting on V's bony shoulder, tenderly brushing a wing along what looked like a pretty gnarly gash on V's forehead.

"When did you get that?" Nero rushed to look, batting Griffon's wing away to feel V's forehead. He could feel V stiffen at the contact, the boy's slin slightly clammy against his palm. Up close, he could see the blood was mostly dried, the cut itself not particularly deep in any way. 

"It's nothing!" V squeaked, ducking out from under Nero's gaze, "I'm fine!"

"If you want to worry about someone worry about your dear old uncle, yeah?" Dante grumbled, "I dunno if I'm gonna go bald cuz if that toucan!"

"Oh, please, you're fine!" Nero didn't even look at him, "Besides, you got- what is this?" Looking down, he noticed his sock slowly becoming damp, soaking up a trail of white.

Oh. Oh, shit, shit- did they...? Nero felt his face heating up, eyes darting between the two others as he tried to piece together what was happening.

Thankfully, Griffon seemed to be reading his mind, trilling as he yelled, "Get your head out of your ass, Dumbo! I got my claw stuck in Dante's hair, V got me out. Nothing happened!"

There was a moment if silence as Nero felt all eyes on him, V freezing to look at him with an almost disgusted awe. From the couch Nero could hear Dante trying (and failing) to hold in his laughter, small snorts breaking up a gale of giggles hidden behind his fist. 

"Oh my god," Dante managed, "This is too good! I'm so gonna tell Kyrie-"

Nero spun swiftly on his heel, barely catching V's confused glance as he stalked his way back to Nico's room. 

His socks were still damp with whatever was on the floor, but he didn't care, climbing back into Nico's bed to shove his tomato red face into the pillow. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those wondering, Kyrie in this fic is Nero's roommate, not his romantic partner. Just like how V is his own person and in no way part of Vergil in this story because making V part of Vergil was a waste of a wonderful character design and character in general


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't updated this fic in a hot second because Final Fantasy 10 on the switch has taken over my life here have a new chapter

Nero knew blatantly ignoring whoever it was that sat next to him in Nico's bed was extremely rude, but after what he saw in the hall, he felt kind of justified. Call it teenage angst (even though he was well into his early twenties, thank you very much), Nero was going to lie down in Nico's alarmingly musty mattress and smother himself to death with her pillow.

He could feel a heavy hand on his shoulder, resisting the urge to swat it away. If he was going to die with any sort of dignity, they would leave him to die in peace. Musty pillow and machine oil smelly peace. 

"C'mon, Nero," Dante sighed, "We need to discuss this."

Nero wanted to snort but it came out more like a muffled groan. He knew Dante- Dante was always a shoot first ask questions later kind of guy. He never talked things through, he never took things seriously-

"I can see the gears turning in that bleach blond brain of yours," Dante patted his shoulder again, his palm making his skin benesth rhe fabric sting, "Come on, talk to dear ol' Uncle Dante!"

Nero shifted until his back was against Dante's arm, "Dear ol' Uncle Dante can go fuck off."

Dante laughed, "While fucking is fun, Trish ain't around. Besides, it's not time for fucking around, it's time for talking!"

Nero snorted, "You never talk about anything."

He could just picture the look on Dante's face right now as he heard Dante feign offense. His brow would be furrowed in mock thought, his face contorted into a construct between The Thinker and any John Travolta movie Nico had msde him watch where the guy made fish lips at every girl he saw.

Suddenly Nero remembered how shitty John Travolta movies were, but that wasn't the point. 

Another shift on the mattress and Nero grunted at the sudden weight as Dante lounged across his person, casually waving his fingers in front of Nero's nose.

"What are you doing?" Nero said flatly, his eyes crossing as he tried focusing on Dante's left middle finger- at least, he was pretty sure it was the left one. Hard to tell when you couldn't see them clearly to begin with.

"As your uncle, I demand you talk to me or I won't order spaghetti along with my pizza for dinner anymore," Dante grinned, his finger inching closer to Nero's right nostril.

He squirmed a little, trying to dislodge Dante, only to succeed in getting a finger up his nose and a near kick in the pants as Dante toppled over him and landed with a harsh thud on the floor.

"Ew! You're so gross!" Nero whined, "And be careful, you might wake Nico-"

"She sleeps like the dead, it's fine. Besides, what's gross is what you thought me and V were doing on the couch."

Nero raised an eyebrow, hopeful that the disgust was clear on his face, "I'm like, twenty-three, dude, I don't need the sex talk from you."

Dante shrugged, "You'd be missing out on a lot of pointers, but that isn't my point-"

"Oh my god, you still can't take things seriously-"

"- my point is that the bird was correct in that nothing happened," Dante ignored him, "There was no swapping spit, as you kids call it these days-"

Heat rushed to Nero's cheeks as Dante proceeded to make a list of what may or may not have happened. Butt Bouncing. Finger Frenzied Fun-Times. Taste Testing, Shuttlecocking, Bumping Uglies, and so on an so forth. Whatever point Dante was trying to make was now moot as they'd strayed so far from the actual conversation.

Hell, Nero was surprised Nico wasn't awake for this, she jumped on any chance she could to make a good sex joke. 

"Yeah, yeah, I get the point, okay?" Nero snapped, surprising himself with an angry hiss, "I just... I don't need to know that my uncle is this kinky. It doesn't make me feel better about V, it just makes me want to bleach my brain."

Dante rolled his eyes, gesturing widely as he shrugged. Despite the jokes, the closer Nero looked, he could see Dante was just as uncomfortable. His face was pinched, eyes narrowed as his goofy smile didn't quite reach his eyes. 

Despite being family and despite this moment, Nero realized Dante was probably just as embarassed as he was; jokes were his defense mechanism because he didn't even have time to process things like relationships in this line of work.

Nero felt a heaviness settle in his gut as he moved to sit up in the bed. 

"If you like him, why don't you tell him?" Dante asked, his voice gentle, "I mean, it's the apocalypse, things aren't gonna get better at the moment."

Nero shrugged, "Too early to tell how he feels, I guess? We've only known him for a few days, and he's pretty hard to read."

"Yeah," Dante heaved a sigh, "Not to mention those familiars of his don't exactly like us right now."

Nero grinned, "You bashed his face into a door, of course they don't like you."

Dante opened his mouth to say something, promptly closing it. His hand fell away from Nero's shoulder, fist clenched awkwardly in his lap. 

"Listen, Nero," Dante said, I know Vergil was not reliable, but I want to be. With V, with this whole Urizen thing-" he paused to scratch his throat, "- just, if you ever need to talk about this stuff, I'll do my best, yeah?"

Nero gave him a reassuring smile, averting his gaze to stare at the blanket. 

"That'd be nice," Nero hummed, "Thanks, Dante."

"Anytime, kid," Dante reached over and squeezed Nero's hand, "Now get some sleep because I can't wait for the awkward conversation you and V are definitely gonna have in the morning."

"And you ruined the moment."

"What can I say? Ruining moments is my specialty!"

"Good night, Dante."

"At least I didn't break out the masturbstion jokes, I had some good ones saved for just such an occasion,"

"Dante....!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello I am back with a new chapter for this story I am so sorry for the wait!

The next day, Nero found himself unable to actually talk to V. Not that he was avoiding him, really, but upon waking up, they had to make a gas run, then as they drove through town (avoiding any main roads, considering the mess the stupid demon tree was causing with its roots) of course they had to fight a few demons to keep on schedule and-

"You're avoiding him," Dante was blunt, grunting as he swung his sword- a demon cleaved perfectly in two, leaving a nasty spray of black and red. "I thought you said you were gonna talk to him?"

Nero rolled his eyes, jumping just in time to avoid the scissored blade of an inky demon woman. He could feel a dull ache starting in his shoulder as he twisted the dial on his arm, the Gerbera mechanic clattering to the cement as he switched it out for the Rawhide.

"I didn't say I would do anything, you just said I should." Nero flicked his wrist, reveling in the snap of Rawhide's whip; out of all the pieces Nico made, Rawhide was probably his favorite.

He wouldn't admit it to Nico because she would proceed to never shut up about it, but the sentiment was there. A flash boomed in thr corner of his eye and he spun on his heel to snap at an incoming demon. The creature screeched wildly as it began to melt, black goo and red crystals scattering on the sidewalk. 

Nero knew Dante was giving him his best disappointed look. He could feel his uncle's gaze boring into his back as they fought but he ignored it, clenching his jaw as he continued to cut down demons like it was going out of style. His arm whirred with every throw of the whip, clicking as he swung his shoulder to get cleaner shots.

"It's gonna eat you up, Nero," Dante slid bis sword on his back, reaching for his lower leg to pull out his trusty Ebony and Ivory pistols, "We both know it and you know I'm right-"

Nero was surprised at the noise that came out of his mouth, allowing himself to enjoy Dante's minute look of bewilderment before he schooled his gaze.

"Listen, Dante-" Nero started, absentmindedly throwing around Rawhide's whip. Hopefully he hit a few demons, and he was glad his aim was true as he heard the ever familiar screams banging around in his brain. 

"Last one!" Dante chirped as he angled Ebony ever so slightly to the right- Nero jumped as the bullet flew over his shoulder, and he followed it to witness it bury itself right between another demon's eyes. Falling backwards, thr body flew a few feet away, skidding to a stop with a loud thump against the wall of a battered building.

From the looks of it, if thr demon had taken another step, Nero would be demon chow. 

Pretty close call, he'd say. 

Nero squinted at the red trail, turning up his nose as the blood seemed to bubble like an egg in a frying pan. 

"Back to the van?" Dante was at his side quickly, scooping up any red orbs he could find.

Nero nodded, wiping his nose with the back of his hand, "Back to the van."

Dante whooped, pumping his fist as he practically skipped through the carnage, happily counting whatever red orbs he'd managed to collect. Nero dragged his feet as he followed, the beige van looming like a beacon as he neared where it was parked. He could see Nico leaning out of the driver's side window, chatting with Dante and V-

Wait, wasn't V supposed to be resting? Picking up the pace, Nero half-jogged over to them, wincing as each step sent a wave of pain up his body and jarred his dead stump. Nico didn't miss it, whistling as he approached the window.

"I told you not to overdo it," she warned, "These are prototypes, they overheat easily."

"I don't see you getting off your ass to fight," Nero snapped.

"And we very much appreciate thst you do," V chimed in from where he leaned against the van. Nero pursed his lips, allowing himself to give V a once-over as he undid the arm's attatchments. While still pale, his skin had a bit more color, his cheeks a rosy pink that matched his lips and the way his tongue poked out between his teeth made Nero want to go and suck it into his mouth-

Fingers snappping at his nose madd Nero yelp, his cheeks burning as V hid a chuckle behind a tattooed fist. 

"Earth to Lover Boy!" Dante yanked the end of Nero's nose with calloused fingers, "You can ogle the pretty man later, we gotta count up these red orbs and find a deity or a phone booth."

"Wha- wait, what?" Nero swatted at Dante, rubbing his nose.

"While you were off in la la land, we made a plan," Dante said, "Nico and I will find a deity statue to do something with all these red orbs-" Pausing, Dante side-stepped his way toward's V, nudging him forward with a sharp elbow (a bit too hard as he stumbled awkwardly) "-while you and V go find a phone booth."

"A working phone booth!" Nico added with a wagging finger.

V at least had the decency to look sheepish, but Nero could only focus on the devilish grins Nico and Dante were sporting. He didn't have enough time to dwell on it, though, as Dante slid open the van's side door, jumped inside and the two were speeding off, leaving Nero standing awkwardly with V on the edge of the battlefield.

Nero gaped at the retreating vehicle, unable to comprehend what exactly just happened. What were they supposed to do at a phone booth? What did a phone booth even have to do with anything?

"I assume they want us to contact them when we find a working phone," V offered at his confused gasping, "Nico didn't say much while you amd Dante were playing around."

"Yeah, they're kinda the same like that," Nero managed. V's cane tapped the cracked ground in time with his heart, it seemed, Nero hearing it pound against his skull as V walked closer. 

V's lips were even pinker up close, slightly cracked in the heat, but watching V constantly lick his lips was.... something, honestly. So close, Nero thought he could see specks of white peppering V's hairline, snowflakes against a dark sky. Or, his mind supplied, it could be dandruff.

Nero forced himself to smile, averting his gaze to the cut on V's forehead: it seemed to heal somewhat overnight, smaller in size but he could see a few cracks still in the skin, could still feel that odd power emanating and for a second, Nero found himself transfixed, drinking in the bob of V's Adam's apple, the way his hair fell in his hooded green eyes, how there was a slight crook in the bridge of V's nose and-

He didn't register V's sound of surprise as he surged forward to kiss him, nor Griffon squawking obscenities until the bird was pulling him back by his smelly blue hoodie, claws managing to scratch the back of his neck at the same time. 

For a minute, Nero just let it happen, eyes wide as he tried to defog his brain. V looked just as shocked, a frown tugging on the corners of his mouth but instead of a flowery anecdote, the guy seemed to be at a loss for words for once. 

Nero thought that probably was a good thing; most likely that he was a really good kisser, even though he hadn't had much experience besides Kyrie and even then, that was when he was at that age where boys wanted to start kissing people and.... and....

And he just kissed V, he realized as Griffon let go of his hood, flitting over to perch protectively on V's shoulder. Slithering around V's ankles was Shadow, making Nero wonder when she had decided to come out. 

Both familiars were glaring daggers at him, Shadow's tail flicking idly as Griffon leaned forward and sneered at him. 

"Well," V swallowed, "Dante said you wanted to talk."

Nero nodded dumbly.

V bit his lip, his knuckles turning white as he gripped his cane tighter. His legs jerked forward and Nero swiveled on the ball of his foot.

"We should probably find that phone booth now," V sounded far away, his voice quiet as he took a step forward.

"Right," Nero squeaked, shoving his hands in his pockets.

V didn't say anything more, trailing behind Nero as they made their way down the street. Black skidmarks decorated the road, left behind from Nico's atrocious driving skills and Nero wished they were in the van right now- he'd be able to hog the passenger seat and blast music from the radio while downing a tequila and bleach mixed cocktail or- even better- go hole himself up in Nico's room and smother himself to death with a pillow before dousing himself in gasoline and lighting a match.

Whichever came first, really, if Griffon or Shadow hadn't gotten to him before then. He could hear Griffon talking to V just behind him, and he hunched his shoulders, hoping he appeared at least a little apologetic.

Dante would call him a wuss and Nico would back it up for sure. It didn't matter, though, because of course he went and did it. He kissed V and now V probably hated him and why was he such an idiot?!

No one said anything as they walked, allowing Griffon to fill the silence. Nero sincerely hoped they found a phone booth soon, though, because Shadow was still glaring at him and Nero was pretty sure she was starting to see him as her next meal.

Well, fuck.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, I've been doing a lot of vo auditions recently
> 
> A little break from Nero's POV for this chapter

For all intents and purposes, Nico knew how to drive. Sure, she liked to slide off ramps and push on the brakes until they snapped in an effort to go faster. Sometimes she spat out curses that would make even Sparda blush that Dante himself would never repeat if some idiot cut her off. 

Other times she went completely off the rails, literally and figuratively as Dante struggled not to blow chunks everywhere as Nico nose-dived the van off yet another cliff, the van rolling like a log as it plummeted to what was surely a bloody demonic death inside a tree.

"YEEE-HAW!" Nico hollered as they fell, Dante going pale as his stomach dropped suddenly.

"Please tell me we're there?" Dante said with a pained whisper, "Please... I beg you...."

"Keep your pants on, Dante, just a little farther," Nico assured him with a wicked grin. Dante pressed himself into the chair, his leather coat sticky with sweat as he clutched the armrest for dear life.

They drove for a few minutes, crached branches and red orbs flashing by out the window. As Nico hooted and screeched with the excitement of a five year old in a candy shop, Dante was anything but. 

"I wish I went with Nero," Dante moaned, "At least then I wouldn't risk losing my lunch."

"And ruin our carefully crafted plan?" Nico raised an eyebrow, "Nuh-uh! They need to figure it out!"

Dante sneered, "And watching them get down and dirty would be hilarious!"

Nico snorted, blowing a stray curl out of her eyes, "I meant have a talk, geez. Get your head out of your ass."

"I'd rather get one eating my ass, but alas, I don't see any pretty painted ladies here," Dante sweep the dashboard with his hand, "all I seem to have on hand are gritty old grease monkeys."

"Ew! Just for that, I'll make you walk!"

"You wouldn't."

"You wanna test that, you sex-crazed creep?"

Dante raised his hands in surrender, "Alright, Alright, I concede." The tires squealed as Nico thrust the wheel to the right, Dante holding on as the van tilted precariously on the left side. From the window he could see branches crawling low, almost like stairs until they disappeared into total blackness. 

"All joking aside, hopefully they stopped giving their balls a tug and finally got to it," Nico laughed, "I can only take Nero waxing poetic about V's eyes in his sleep so many times."

"Wait, you know?" Dante asked.

"Not like either of them are trying to hide it," Nico said, "besides, the little chicken puts V on blast every five seconds if Nero so much as breathes. It's hilarious."

Dante wrinkled his nose. Even from the start, when Nero stopped them to save V's unnaturally skinny ass, he was a lost cause. He doted on V like the guy was the Sun, and he seemed nice enough, but something waa odd when they first found him. Demons never swarmed like they had with V unless something was calling to them. His familiars- Dante definitely liked Shadow more than Griffon, the cat wasn't always on his ass about stuff- seemed demonic in origin, so othrr demons may be attracted to them.

But then there was V himself. Dante knew he pretended not to know, but something was wrong there. Nero had pointed it out first, but Dante had chalked it up to big time crushing on the kid's part. It was almost like perfume, a demonic energy permeating the air, their clothes, their skin...

"Whatcha thinking about?" Nico's drawl cut through his thoughts abd he found the mechanic staring at him with an artful look of disdain on her face.

"Nero was right before," Dante said, "about something being weird about V."

"What do you think it is?" Nico said.

Dante shrugged, "I noticed it with his familiars- they aren't exactly normal demons. Demons don't usually turn into tattoos or dye your hair."

Nico grinned, "You don't think his carpet matches his drapes, huh?"

"Essentially, yeah," Dante bit his lip, "And when I gave him the cut on his forehead? I could feel that same energy Nero felt, it felt too dark coming from him."

Nico nodded, turning her attention back to the road. They drove in silence for a few minutes, letting the hard rock from the radio fill them in. 

"You think Mundus is after V, then?" Nico finally said, "Or the Urizen guy?"

Dante heaved a sigh, "It's possible. If who I think is behind this, along with those two, then we need to make sure we're prepared."

Nico beamed, leaning firward in the driver's seat. She slammed her foot on the gas, the van rocking with the unexpected burst of speed.

"Nico! What the fuck?!" Dante screamed.

"If we wanna find a deity, there's only one way to go!" Nico yelled, "Hold on tight!"

Dante squeezed his eyes shut as Nico yanked at the steering wheel, the van skidding sideways and soon they were falling, his head throbbing as all the blood pounded in his temples, his muscles aching with tension.

If he threw up in the van, Nico would kill him. He clapped a hand over his mouth just as the van flipped over and they were plunged into darkness. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry I've been away from this fic for so long but I'm back!

They found the phone booth sitting dangerously amongst the rubble of an abandoned building, a Nidhogg root sprouting right out the roof. Nero watched as V approached it, stumbling over himself as his toes caught on bits of rock and debris.

"V, do you want me to check it out?" Nero called, jogging to catch up- V was starting to try and climb his way towards the phone booth, Griffon catching his arms to pull him forward as Shadow slinked around his ankles to prevent him from falling completely. Nero let a small laugh slip as he watched V strike out with his cane, wobbling as he bent his knees to keep his balance on a small plateau. 

"No worries, Nero," V said smoothly, flicking his hair away from his eyes, "I've go- AH!"

"V!" Nero rushed towards him, Rawhide at rhe ready as he watched V topple over. Griffon was squawking at him to do something and he could faintly hear Shadow's growling but all Nero knew was that V was falling and there were rocks everywhere and-

And he was falling too, landing on something warm with a rough yelp and Nero could feel bony fingers tightly gripping his jacket as they landed in the phone booth, V laying underneath Nero with his back against the Nidhogg branch.

"You... okay?" Nero panted, freezing as he took in the splay of dark hair around V's face, the green eyes wide with something he couldn't quite place. Rawhide hung uselessly on his arm, the electrified whip dangling uselessly over V's shoulder. Nero licked his lips, making a poor attempt at a smile.

"I'm fine...." V said quietly, almost like he hadn't said it at all. 

Nero took a deep breath, taking in the red walls around them: with the Nidhogg branch growing inside it, the booth was at n odd angle, the red paint chipped and he could se a few of the window panes were cracked and dirty with demon spunk. 

There was also an odd smell, a strange feeling hanging in the air, but Nero decided not to comment on that. 

Instead, he said, "Looks like we found the phone booth, huh?"

V nodded, eyes still wide as he slowly unfurled his fingers from Nero's coat. 

Nero pursed his lips, averting his gaze to stare at anyone or anything but V. He couldn't handle the doe eyes he was currently getting, the lack of any quips or sly looks V usually returned, but Nero found it was mostly because he himself couldn't find the words. Sure, he could try and talk about the kiss, but was this really the right time? 

"Hey! Idiots!" Griffon's screech broke through his thoughts, making Nero try and twist his head to look over his shoulder. The bird was hovering by the door of the booth, Shadow circling anxiously a few feet away.

"I swear to God, Griffon-" Nero growled, struggling to not collapse on top of V completely and crush him.

"Before you two start eating each other's tongues, we got company!"

Nero frowned. That couldn't be right- the whole place had been deserted aince the tree showed up. Morrison had made sure to clear every area and the updates on evacuation had come swiftly enough that Dante didn't feel the need to do another sweep to double check Morrison's job. He could feel V shifting underneath him, leather pants squeaking against his own jeans as he tried to make himself more comfortable in the tight space. 

"Is it Dante?" Nero asked hopefully.

The second the words nleft gis mouth, Nero felt V freeze, and when he turned to look at him he saw the man trembling.

It was almost imperceivable, but Nero saw it for damn sure. 

"V?" Nero asked softly, "What is it?"

V's breath was comign i short bursts, his fist thumping weakly against Nero's chest as he managed to get out a weak, "We need to go."

"What?"

"Now, Nero!" V hissed desperately, "We have to leave, it's not safe-" 

Nero shook his head, still confused, "Dante and Nico aren't here yet, we can't leave them behind."

V swallowed, his fist relentless as he tried to get Nero to budge even an inch. It honestly felt like nothing, almost like snowflakes brushing his skin as they fell during winter. He could see how V shook more freely now, his entire body wracked with fear as he tried moving, succeeding only in wriggling against the Nidhogg branch.

"Nero!" V cried with exasperation, "We have to go which means you have to move!"

"Okay! Okay, just... we gotta be careful, okay? Thid thing ain't that sturdy," Nero relented, slowly wiggling his fingers. Chest heaving, Nero tensed his wrist, slowly easing his Devil Breaker along the wall. Rawhide's whip swung dangerously as he moved and Nero's breath hitched as the hook on the end twisted dangerously towards the end of V's nose, sighing in relief as it fell away at the last minute. 

"I'm so sorry, V-" Nero started as he managed to pull his Devil Breaker back further, getting Rawhide a safe distance from V's face.

"We don't have time for this," V growled, "Griffon!"

"On it!" the bird chirped happily and before Nero could ask what V had in mind, he choked as he felt his hood snapped back on sharp claws and he flew from the phone booth, flying a few feet before crashing to the cracked cement. He skid a few feet before rolling to a stop, his skin burning from where his sleeves rubbed against his arms.

"Ow..." Nero hissed, pushing himself up on all fours, "V, damn it...."

"We got it handled, Nero," Griffon was suddenly in his ear, making Nero jump, " you gotta get out of here!"

Nero blinked at Griffon, "Wh- no! I'm not leaving V behind, besides, Dante-"

"Isn't here right now!" Griffon yelled, flapping his wings against Nero's cheeks, "Get up! You gotta go!"

Nero shook his head, his limbs heavy as he dragged himself to his feet. Shaking his wrist, he felt pieces of Rawhide collapse, clinking against the cement as the pieces fell to revel Gerbera, metal screeching as it slid into place. 

The glow of the arm was intense as Nero pushed past Griffon and stalked towards the phone booth. The ground was unsteady under his feet, but Nero kept going, eyes trained on V as he was trying to get up from where they fell. 

A foot away from the booth, Nero saw it.

A red cloud seemed to appear oit of nothing, thin spider-web cracks seemingly pouring from an invisible wall, longer and longer until the blackened center seemed to shatter, an array of lesser demons pouring like a waterfall to skitter and slide along the broken street. 

That same energy followed them, although now it felt like it was almost weighing him down, trying to push him to his knees. 

"Shit!" Nero snapped, rolling his shoulder as he pushed himself forward, "Shit! V!"

Nero struggled to even put one foot forward, watching hopelessly as the demons ran amok, V still trying to get himself unstuck to no avail. Shadow had already started the fight, tail slashing like a blender as she pounced in every enemy, decimating them in a shower of red gems. Inside the booth, Nero watched as V seemed to yell in frustration before digging skinny fingers into the Nidhogg branch. 

"Griffon! Get to V!" Nero called, "I can't fucking move!"

"Got it!"  the bird flapped his wings, sending three bolts of lightning at the demons before swooping down towards the phone booth, only to jerk back as two demons jumped for him, spindly legs and pincers vying to catch him. V thankfully had the sense to keep himself as far from the door as possible, squeezing his eyes shut as the two demons fought each other. 

Nero grit his teeth, pushing against the seemingly invisible force keeping him place, yelling in frustration as he found himself not even moving an inch. Griffon was circling the booth now, distracting the two demons as Shadow took care of the ones on the ground- as he watched, though, he could see they were slowing down too, their movements sluggish as they fought. 

"Alright, Nero, think!" Nero grunted to himself, "You gotta get V out if there, but how....."

Nero couldn't remember if V had bis cane when they fell into the phone booth, but there wouldn't be enough room to maneuver it enough to stab at any demons close to the door; he could see a few break away from Shadow's group to join the two distracted by Griffon, but V so far was being left alone. 

"Nero!" V shouted, his voice muffled through the chaos, "Tell me! Do you have your phone?!"

Nero gaped at him incredulously, "Why the fuck do you need my phone?!"

V had the audacity to roll his eyes, jumping as one of the demons got a little too close to where he was stuck.

"Call Dante, you imbecile!" V hollered, reaching ocer his shoulder to try and grab his own coat. Nero could see now why he hadn't moved: if he tilted his head at just the right angle, he could see the lacing of the coat and arm of the left side was caught in the Nidhogg branch, the fleshy center seeming to pulse as it spread against the leather. 

That, Nero decided, was not right. He'd never seen a Nidhogg do that and it had to be because of the fucky demon energy swirling around right now, it just had to be. 

Achingly slow, Nero reached into his pocket and took out his phone, cursing as he almost dropped it. He was lucky, as the demons so far hadn't noticed his presence, but Shadow and Griffon were going to need help and fast- Shadow was evading more than attacking now, and Griffon had dared to dive down and yank the door of the phone booth shut, effectively locking him inside with a Nidhogg that was possibly trying to eat him alive. 

The ring of the phone made Nero focus on the screen, Dante's name flashing with green letters as Nero silently begged for him to pick up.  

He tightened his grip on the third ring, trying to ignore the chaos around him as he waited. 

\------

Dante groaned as the phone rang, his head aching as Nico rolled the van to a stop on the edge of the city. 

"Your establishment, you pick it up," Nico chuckled as she moved to light a cigarette- honestly, Dante was starting to wonder where she kept them because from the looks of it, her bra was not that big enough to hold that many packs of Marlboro. 

"You can't be my lovely secretary for once and do it for me?" Dante threw a hand over his face.

"What happened to being a grease monkey?" Nico pouted playfully, nudging the cellphone across the dashboard, "Just pick it up!"

Dante grumbled, feeling around blindly u til he found the phone, perking up at the name on screen, "Oh, it's Nero."

Nico leaned forward in her seat, blowing amoke out of the corner of her mouth, "They find a phone booth?"

Dante shrugged, tapping the screen and saying, "Hey, Nero! Nico and I-"

"Dante! Thank God!" Nero sounded strained on the other end, "You gotta get here and fast!"

"Didn't think you believed in God, kiddo-"

"Fuck! Dante, seriously- we found the phone booth but we got ambushed, we're trapped!"

Dante heard Nico curse, slamming her hands against the steering wheel, "What's goin' on there?"

They could hear the fight on the other end, Shadow's growls and Griffon screeching amongst demon howls and slashing and slicing and whatever the fuck else was happening. Nero himself sounded weirdly tired, his words slurred ever so slightly as he spoke. 

"Where are you guys?" Dante demanded, yanking his seatbelt into place. Nico quickly started the engine, the van purring to life and soon they were moving, rolling along as the scenery began to flash in blurs out the window. Her cigarette hung limp from between her teeth, already halfway done. 

"The edge of town, about a mile or so from where we split up," Nero gave him directions, "V is trapped in the phone booth, and I can't fucking move-"

"Whaddya mean you can't move?" Nico barked. She twisted the wheel harshly to the left, the tires squealing against the pavement. 

"There's some weird energy hanging around, it's hard to explain, but-"

"Shit!" Dante swore, "Nero, I know you felt it earlier, but I felt it too, whatever it is it has to do with V just stay put!"

Nero said something unintelligable on the other end, but Dante didn't try to make sense of it, grimacing as he hung up the phone, cracking his knuckles. 

"Dante?" Nico dared to asked, eyes trained on the road for once.

"Keep driving, Nico," Dante gripped the dashboard for dear life, "and step on it."

"Huh?"

"Just drive!" Dante yelled, already feeling his stomach flip as Nico jammed her foot against the gas pedal.

Whatever that energy was, Dante knew V had to be connected to it somehow- it seemed to linger on V like smoke, following him around in a heavy haze; in the store it didn't feel like much but it was there, just under the surface. And now it had Nero caught in its clutches.

He just hoped he got there in time to save them. 


	9. Chapter 9

The place was absolutely decimated when Dante and Nico rolled up, and sure enough, demons ran amok as Nero stood frozen in place, halted mid step when he was most likely running to get V. 

V, who was clawing furiously at something that seemed content to swallow him whole inside a lopsided phone booth. Dante jumped from the van before Nico even put it into park, dashing towards Nero to try and budge him, but there was that strange energy Nero had mentioned over the phone, a strange purple haze falling over him. Dante could feel his joints stiffen as he moved, but he managed to push through, barely able to pull out his sword to slash at any nearby demons. He spotted V's annoying bird perched on top of the phone booth trying to peck its way inside. The big cat was occupied with a Malphas, although it was obvious Shadow was tired, her tail missing more than hitting any if her targets. 

"Hey! Griffon!" Dante yelled as he swung his sword in a downward slash, cleaving what he hoped was a demon in two as he pushed forward, "What the fuck is going on?!"

"Those two idiots were too distracted playing tonsil hockey so they got ambushed by the horde," Griffon explained, "But Lover Boy over there can't seem to get his ass in gear!"

Dante grimaced. Nero had said as much ocer the phone- and as much as he wanted to tease the two of them, he knew it wasn't the time. V was frantic innthe booth as he approached, green eyes wide with paic and bewilderment as he pounded on the door with one hand, only to tug at something.... it seemed to be crawling all over him, slick and goopy and that's when he realized.

"The energy is V's...." Dante murmured, faltering as he moved, "And the Nidhogg can sense it...."

Well, kind of. It seemed to envelop the guy, sticky green tendrils wrapping around him almost like a cocoon; his legs were already swallowed, the strands of the branch wrapping thickly around his neck. Gripping his sword, Dante threw his shoulder back to pull the blade forward. It clanged loudly against the window, and Dante saw V wince as glass rained down on him. 

"Nero!" Dante yelled as he examined the mess in front of him, trying his best to ignore V's poor attempts at breathing, the way his skinny fingers clawed at the stuff around his throat, "You better get your ass unstuck before I tell Nico to run you over!"

Nero's strangled, "I'm fucking trying, asshole!" was all Dante needed to confirm that they were officially fucked. Sweat beaded ok his forehead as he lifted the sword and stabbed again at the phone booth door, cracked glass and woodchips flying everywhere. 

Dante could feel himself growing tired, his arms starting to ache, but he kept going, chipping away until red paint was sticking to his clothes, pinpricks of glass catching on his fingers. With an aggravated yell, Dante moved to slide the sword into the hinges of the door and pressed- he almost cried tears of joy when he heard the rusted hinges creak before snapping off completely, the door clacking to the blacktop as it fell off completely. 

Behind him, he heard Nico yelling something, Nero calling for him but Dante ignored themmin favor of trying to free V, grabbing at any part of the Nidhogg branch and pulling for dear life. 

It wouldn't budge, seeming to harden under his grip. 

"Fuck!" Dante cursed as he watched V take one final breath before his eyes rolled into the back of his head, his body falling limp.

The energy seemed to intensify the minute V's eyes closed, however, Dante freezing suddenly as he twisted around to lock eyes with Nero. Nico was pulling at his arms, running around him to push at his back when that didn't work.

To his left, from the corner of his eye, Dante could see a spiral of red appear a few feet above the ground and he grunted in annoyance as it seemed to drip, blood splattering the battlefield as the portal expanded and expanded until he walked out.

"Vergil?" 

His brother stood tall and proud, white hair swept back from a bony face. At first glance, he looked normal, with his discriminating glare and hard frown that he always wore, even when they were younger. He seemed to pay no mind to the carnage around him, striding purposefully towards the phone booth. Dante's muscles screamed at him to move, to grab Vergil and throw him away from the booth, heck, he just wanted to yell, warn him about the energy that seemed to freeze time but Vergil was unphased, gliding like a swan on water until he came to a stop and leaned over, eyeing V with disdain. 

"It seems Urizen was correct," Vergil sighed as if dealing with an unruly child, "that you can't seem to know when to quit."

Dante rolled his eyes, V unmoving where he lay. Vergil knelt down, leather pants creaking with his joints.

"You seem to think you can outsmart me," Vergil droned on, "But I'll see to it that you don't go unrewarded."

Dante tried to jerk himself forward, but nothing happened. His neck was starting to hurt from the position but all he could do was listen as Vergil unsheathed something, followed by a whistle in the air and suddenly the air to his left was freezing, and from the corner of his eye he could see nothing but blackness, outlined with a familiar electric blue.

Yamato, Dante realized, as Vergil somehow unhooked V from the confines of the Nidhogg, levitating his body in front of him.

Dante's mouth twitched as Vergil walked ever so slowly until they were face to face, a sly grin begging to be punched as Vergil clears his throat.

"I must say, I didn't expect V to find you," Vergil said, ""considering the type of company you keep-" here, he threw a disapproving look at Nero and Nico, the mechanic having produced a wrench and who was currently running at him wildly with it "- I didn't expect him to get so close to any of you. Or stay."

Dante wanted to curse, but all that came out was a low whine.

Vergil chuckled, "At a loss for words, huh?  First time for everything. Well, dear brother, I must tell you, this has been fun, but I must be going. I promise to return V to your little friend when I'm finished with him."

And then Vergil was guiding V into the portal, the entrance snapping shut as Vergil walked through. As soon as Vergil's coat tails disappeared, Dante felt lighter, the weight yanked off him so fast he found himself crashing to the ground with a growl. His sword clattered a few feet away, skidding to a stop at Nico's feet. 

"The fuck, Dante?!" Nico yelled, her face red as she waved her crowbar around, "We have to go after him!"

Dante shook his head, struggling to breath as he flopped over on his back. Griffon flew overhead and he heard Nero jog over, Devil Breaker glowing and ready. Shadow was gentle as she approached, nudging Dante's cheek with her nose. 

"He has it," was all Dante found he could say as he forced himself to sit up, "Vergil has the Yamato."

"Yeah, and now my piece of shit dad has V," Nero grumbled, kicking the ground, "Mother fucker!"

"Getting angry now won't help!" Dante said, "Vergil mentioned that V outsmarted him once."

"So?" Nico shrugged, "You think Vergil is holding V hostage or something?"

Dante didn't know for sure- it was definitely plausible, and he was probably using that energy from earlier to track V. Sending demons to collect him if he ever escaped from wherever it was Vergil was keeping him. 

Why, though? It couldn't be because V had control over two familiars, although it could be part of it. Dante rolled his shoulders, snapping his fingers as his thoughts ran a mile a minute. 

"If the day we picked V up was the day he escaped, that means Vergil has been tracking us to get him back," Dante reasoned, "That's what that weird energy we felt from him was."

"So it only affects people of demonic origin or ancestry?" Nero reached a hand out to Dante, grunting as Dante took it and pulled himself up. His bones ached as if he were a senior citizen, his legs yelling at him to just sit down already. 

"Explains why I was still able to move around," Nico said, "Still don't explain why he took V, though."

"It's not that simple," Dante said, "If Vergil kidnapped V once before he has to know something. Something Vergil doesn't want us getting to first."

Nero's glare dug into his chest as he muttered, "What the fuck is wrong with this fucking family, I swear to-"

"Listen, we'll get 'im back," Griffon piped up from where he was hovering; Dante had forgotten the bird was even there. 

"And how do you propose we do that, huh?" Nero spat.

"Because we still got his cane," Griffon flew over and snatched it up in his talons, "And it was one of the things Vergil didn't want him taking."

"One of?"

Griffon clicked his beak, "Yeah. The other thing should still be in girlie's room. But let's be quick about it- I don't wanna be finger food for any passing demons and I don't think you want to either."

\------

Inside the van, Shadow immediately darted for Nico's room, the large cat surprisingly agile as she started pawing through Nico's belongings. Dante, Nero and Nico could only watch from the doorframe as the bird and cat worked in tandem, pulling open desk drawers, flipping through notebooks and rummaging through the mess of blankets on her bed. Nero was holding on tightly to V's cane, rubbing the figurehead with delicate swipes of his thumb.

"Not that I don't love sleepovers," Nico huffed, "but y'all better not leave any surprises, if you know what I'm getting at."

"Keep your tits on, kid, just a few seconds and... Here it is!" Griffon yelled triumphantly, using his claws to produce what looked like a thin book from under Nico's mattress. Dante caught it as Griffon threw it over to them. The leather was rough against the pads of his fingers, gold writing etched into the cover. 

"A monogrammed notebook?" Nico snorted, looking over Dante's shoulder.

"It's a spellbook, actually," Griffon corrected her, "V used it to teach me and Shadow bow to fight, so we could protect him."

Nero chuckled darkly, "Fat lot of good that did him."

Dante ignored him, running his hand over the bindng. The leather flaked away on his fingers, sticking to his skin. Flipping it open, the pages were full of messy scrawls and faded pictures and diagrams and a few things he couldn't quite make out, but..

"What was V doing with my mother's book?" Dante's voice was hushed, almost inaudible, "Where did he get this?"

"Stole it from Vergil's personal collection to read from," Griffon explained, "though we didn't know Vergil put some sort of tracking spell on it when we took it."

Dante stiffened, nails digging into the book as he shut it, picking his head up to glare the bird in front of him.

"He defiled our mother's book?" his voice was laced with pain, and he could feel tears at the corner of his eyes, "I thought nothing survived the fire and now I find out that he kept our mother's book and tainted it? For fucking what?"

"Can't tell you much other than the fact that Vergil kept saying V was some sort of key to finding 'it' whatever that means," Griffon said, "He was already impressed V could summon us and even read your mom's book to begin with-"

"Okay, so V has some sort of demonic origin like we do," Nero said, "but what's 'it'? And why kidnap him in the first place?"

Griffon looked uncomfortable as he spoke, "As far as I know, Vergil wanted to use Urizen and Mundus first to find whatever it is he's looking for, but the Yamato didn't respond too nicely to 'em. Then it sensed V and, well, you know that part. V won't tell us what 'it' is, but the day you found us is the day he seemed to figure out Vergil's master plan."

"Vergil wasn't happy that V figured it out, so you guys ran," Dante finished for him, somber as he turned and stalked towards the front of the van. Throwing the door open, he jumped out and walked back to the phone booth, grimacing at the broken glass and wood littering the ground. 

It didn't really matter, considering the state the rest of the town was in, but knowing what had happened just a few minutes ago left Dante with an ill feeling rumbling around in his stomach. Grabbing the phone off the wall, Dante punched in a number and tapped his foot as he listened to the dial tone.

"This thing better fucking work...." Dante said under his breath, almost crying with relief as he heard the other end pick up.

"Hello?" a young woman's voice chirped on the other line. Dante beamed, gripping the phone so tight his knuckles burned.

"Lady? This is Dante," Dante said.

Lady sounded surprised, "I thought you were taking a break from Devil May Cry since Nero showed up?"

Dante clicked his tongue, "Nero's been helping me, but that isn't the problem."

"Oh, so there's a problem? Do tell, I love hearing things before Trish does."

"Vergil's back," Dante declared, "and he took a friend of ours."

A beat of silence. Sweat pooled under hus armpits as he waited nervously for an answer, the leather of his coat searing against the back of his neck.

"So it's a rescue mission?" Lady finally asked.

"Of sorts," Dante agreed, "V's familiar's are filling us in on the whole thing as we speak. You in?"

Dante could practically hear the smile that must have been on Lady's face.

"I'm in. Send me your location, I'll be there soon."


	10. Chapter 10

There had been word of an apple when they were children, a piece of fruit from a sickly tree in the backyard of a small house in what constituted as the Garden of Eden. Legend had it the apple sbined bright red avainst the dark gnarled branches, and those who ate it gained infinite knowledge and power of the world. 

Dante always boasted how he would get it first, if only to annoy Vergil when they were kids, and Vergil was loathe to admit it now as he brought V back to that same yard, to that same house.

The one he lived in all those years ago, although now it was ramshackle, Quliphoth branches breaking through shingles and windows, paint cracked and doors boarded up. Vergil ignored the glass and wood and leaves breaking underfoot as he guided V's sleeping form along, ignoring Urizen and Mundus as they tramped around the yard to guard the tree. Every step they took shook the ground, the feeling akin to an earthquake, but Vergil ignored that too, walking until he found the spiral staircase and ascended, boots clicking against the granite steps.

The Yamato had foun V by chance, Vergil mulled over the incident, as he searched for a being to give him ultimate power alongside the apple. Eva's book had hidden spell after spell of how to use it, but the more Vergil read, he realized something else was missing. He had Urizen's blood, he had Mundus under gis control, but before he could even think of eating the apple, he needed one more thing. 

"It seems, my friend, I won't be done with you just yet," Vergil spoke to V, leading him to a room down the corridor and to the left- a bedroom, lavish with silk sheets and satin curtains. It had seen better days, with every available surface under thick layers of dust and cobwebs, but no one ever came up here. The door was well hidden, just able to fit behind an old bookcase that slid easily against the wall. 

V would be kept hidden, just for now until Vergil needed him.

\------

Lady and Trish came knocking that night, Lady being entirely too cheerful while Trish was muttering angrily under her breath, arms crossed as she stomped after Lady into the van.

"I was on my way to a job, you know," Trish said accusingly as she plopped herself down on the couch, "Big pay and all that too."

Nero raised an eyebrow, "Really? Where to?"

"Raccoon City," Trish replied, "a friend of mine was looking for her brother after he disappeared from Europe. Figured he might show up at their old hometown but something happened."

Nero nodded, glancing down at his lap. He was still holding the cane, he realized, and ecen though he could feel Vergil's tracking spell on it, he didn't want to let go of it. Couldn't bring himself to, really. 

"Sorry to hear that," Nero offered.

"Sorry to hear about your friend," Trish jutted her chin at the cane, "That belong to him?"

"Sort of? He stole it from my dad trying to escape," Nero explained, then with a thumb over gis shoulder, "Apparently he stole Eva Sparda's spellbook and learned how to control demons with it too."

Nero watched as Trish tried and failed not to look surprised. He didn't know much about her history with Dante or Vergil, but Dante always had a bit of a sore spot talking about it- he guessed a demon assassin being made to look like someone's dead mother did that to a guy, but Trish apparently was a good person. 

Or so everyone said. She held an air about her that made you think she'd undermine you the first chance she got, with her upturned nose and narrowed eyes as she stared you down and stole all your money. 

"I know what you're thinking," Trish broke through his thoughts, "I'm not your grandmother."

"I know that."

Trish gave him a sly smile, something Nero thought she didn't do very often, "Do you? Took Dante a few years to cope with that."

Nero snorted, "Honestly I don't blame him. But it isn't entirely your fault either."

Trish leaned back on the couch, "I guess. I did fail my mission though."

Nero nodded, "So I heard. Glad you didn't kill him, though."

"Yeah," Trish agreed, "That would have sucked big time."

They let the conversation lull, Trish inspecting her nails with a bored expression while Nero went back to studying V's cane. Vergil's cane- whoever owned it. The cane. An old piece of junk, polished to perfection. The raven at the top bore into him with soulless eyes, and Nero twisted it in his hands so he wasn't looking at it anymore. 

"Can you tell me about him?"

Nero picked up his head to see Trish playing with her hair, "Huh?"

"This V that seems to have outsmarted Vergil," Trish reiterated, "Who is he?"

Nero shrugged- there wasn't much of a story to tell: boy fights demons, boy sees other boy attacked by demons, boy goes to save other boy from said demons only to find out boy's father wants to use other boy to become the most powerful person alive.

It sounded dumb when Nero put it like that, but that's what it was. 

"You like him?" Trish asked.

"I've only known him for two, three days," Nero admitted, "don't really have enough groundwork to make an opinion-"

"Oh, but you got enough to kiss him, huh?" Griffon flew inti the room, landing on the arm of the couch next to Trish- she looked taken aback, lip curled slightly in disgust as Griffon held out a claw, "Name's Griffon, one of V's familiars. How you doin'?"

"Delighted," Trish said in a voice that was anything but.

Lady was close behind, nearly jumping on the couch as she said "You kissed him?! After two days?"

"Griffon I fucking hate you," Nero's face was red as a tomato, "I absolutely hate you."

"Feeling is mutual, kiddo, but V likes ya, so consider us acquaintances until further notice."

Wait- V liked him? Like, like him liked him? He opened his mouth to ask what he meant, closing it as Dante and Nico made themselves known, Dante waving the notebook teasingly over his head.

"If we're done discussing my nephew's love life," Dante announced, "Nico and I discovered something."

"What is it?" Lady asked.

Nico cleared her throat, "We know that Vergil is tryin' to get stronger with an Apple, right? Well, there's more to it."

"You mean the Garden of Eden?" Trish said.

"The one and only," Dante snapped his fingers, but he needs to consume a heart along with the apple to maximize the power-"

Lady moaned in disgust, "Like a human heart? Or a demon heart?"

"Does it matter?" Trish jabbed Lady with her elbow, "We've seen more disgusting things, you know that."

Dante waited for them to pipe down before continuing, "Get this, though: the Yamato decides who's worthy. It can sense demonic or angelic ancestry, and judging from this, both Mundus and Urizen are candidates for the ritual."

"So the Yamato must have decided Urizen and Mundus unworthy, if Vergil managed to grab them," Nero guessed. 

"Right, so when we found V, Vergil must have figured it out that V was the one he needed-"

Nero blanched, tuning Dante out as he continued talking. The apple was powerful enough on its own, he knew that much. If Mundus and Urizen were considered unworthy, why did it choose V, then? What made V so special that Vergil decided he needed to fucking eat his heart?

He had to have some latent abilities, considering Shadow and Griffon existed- Vergil most likely felt threatened by V's possible power, since Dante never mentioned if he or Vergil could summon any familiars themselves. 

"It's to prepare himself," Nero blurted suddenly, feeling all eyes on him.

"What?" Dante asked.

Nero blinked, "If Vergil doesn't consider himself powerful enough to eat the apple just yet, wouldn't he eat something more powerful first?"

Nico's face looked green as Dante thankfully caught on to what he was saying.

"According to the spellbook, the heart of one as pure as snow and fair as night is the second most powerful next to the apple. With all that untapped potential, if Vergil eats V's heart and then the apple, he'd be unstoppable."

Trish's cackling ruined the mood as she clutched her stomach, gasping through giggles, "I'm sorry, are... are we in a fairy tale? Is this for real?"

"Considering V's power, not to mention Vergil's focus, it isn't hard to believe," Nero said defensively, "Why's it so funny?"

Trish wiped tears from her eyes, "I'm sorry, it's just a little hard to believe is all."

"Considering our line of work, not really," Lady pointed out. "Besides, it's almost like Snow White!"

"Okay, now you sound like Patty," Dante said.

Lady shrugged, "Well, now we know what's up. You guys got a plan?"

Nero looked down at the cane in his lap. The raven was still turned towards the floor, the sleek surface glinting menacingly under the fluorescent lights. Twisting the cane, he watched how the light bent, darker lines flashing before disappearing once more-

Wait. 

Slowly, Nero turned the cane again. Like a curtain, letters seemed to appear, etched in thin lines in the silver. He tilted his head as he moved it, the lines getting longer until he found himself looking at a full sentence. 

"The support with which I'm provided shall prove my love to another," Nero read aloud, "and when dusk falls as I lie in sleep, my love will belong to no other."

"Excuse me?" Nero thought he heard Nico gasp incredulously.

"It's written on the cane," Nero said, "It looks like a poem?"

"There has to be something else," Dante said.

Nero knew he was right; while Vergil was a fan of poetry, he wouldn't stop there, hell, his lack of an arm was proof of that. He turned the cane over some more, but he couldn't fidn any more writing.

"Nothing," Nero said forlornly, "Just the poem."

Trish snatched the cane from him roughly, holding it up to the light, "That can't be it," she growled, "He always has a trick up his sleeve, I- aha!"

Smugly, Trish planted the cane to face everyone, pointing to the figurehead, "Look at this! Press down on it-"

With the heel of her palm, she pressed and pulled back on the raven's head, revealing a two inch needle.

"- and you have a dart. Smells like it's covered in something demonic, some sort of drug."

It disappeared with a grating sound as Trish released the mechanism, adding, "He probably pricked himself with it by accident when he stole it and didn't realize."

"Probably how Vergil found him so fast this time," Griffon explained, "He had trouble walking last time we left so we grabbed it to keep him going."

Lady raised a hand, "If he has a needle hidden in the cane and wants to eat V's heart, he's probably hoping the drug makes him more complacent."

Dante cursed, taking the cane from Trish, twisting it to get a good look at the inscription. His tongue clicked against his teeth as he read it, nodding to Nico, who had the book at the ready.

"Check the spell again," Dante said, "I wanna see if it works with this love poem here."

Everyone waited with bated breath as they watched Nico flip furiously through the book, the thin pages crinkling under her fingers as she read through it. After a few minutes of listening to her muttering curses even a sailor wouldn't repeat, she froze, her hand pressed into the spine between the pages.

"I found a match," she said almost to herself, then louder, "I found a match. Vergil cursed him to make it easier to eat his heart."

No one said anything for a few minutes, but Trish and Lady were already up and collecting their belongings, Trish on the phone- most likely cancelling her Raccoon City job, Nero figured as Lady sat next to her counting how many grenades she bought in her arsenal. 

Nero sat there dumbly, jumping when Dante slapped a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it gently.

"Don't worry, Nero," Dante said, "we'll get him back."

Before he knew it, they were all buckling themselves into a seat, Nico revving the engine and putting the van into stickshift to drive. 

No one said anything if she drove a little faster than usual.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Banging out 4 chapters one after the other I am on a roll woth this lmao

When V awoke, he found himself sinking into something soft, downy feathers tickling his cheeks as he rolled around in....

V froze, fingers clawing at the sheets underneath him. Breath hitching in his throat, V picked himself up to stare down in wonder at the bed he sat on.

"Silk sheets...?" V murmured, swinging his legs over the side of the bed to plant his fert on the floor. The hairs on his arms stood on end as he got up to walk around the room; a thick layer of dust filtered the air, making him cough as explored.

This wasn't right. Last he remembered he was in the city with Nero, searching for a phone booth while Dante and Nico drove off to find a deity- he could still feel Nero's lips on his as his sleep addled brain defogged.

"This isn't right...." V said to himself, floorboards creaking as he started to pace, "no....no, shit!" He grabbed fistfuls of his hair, yanking furiously as he remembered exactly what happened.

The ambush. Getting trapped in the phone booth, the Nidhogg practically swallowing him whole- V gagged as he recalled the acidic smell, the way it smothered him in the booth, the wetness crawling across his skin and-

"I see you're awake," a familiar voice made V stiffen. Spinning on his heel, V immediately backed away as Vergil strode confidently into the room. His hair was white as snow, teal leather coat as immaculately done as he had last seen. He held himself proudly as he walked in, almost like a king approaching his throne.

"Speechless?" Vergil mocked, folding his hands behind his back, "That's a first for you, isn't it?"

V swallowed nervously. He thought he got out- Nero had saved him, there was no way-

"My idiot son can't protect you, V," Vergil hissed as if reading his mind, "For my plan to work I need you-"

"You don't need me!" V barked, "You only want me for what you don't ha-"

His cheek stung as Vergil's open palm sent him sprawling to the floor; pain laced up his arm as he banged his shoulder against the edge of a dresser on the way down. He lay still as he tried to catch his breath, hating how Vergil's malicious grin was throwing daggers into the back of his neck. 

"Don't talk back to me, boy," Vergil crouched down to hiss in V's ear, V flinching at the stale warmth hitting his skin, "I'm going to acheive my goal and you're going to get me there."

V wanted to laugh. Vergil always said something along a similar vein. They both knew it was to gloat at Dante, to hold it over him as if they were children and Dante stole his favorite toy. He waited until Vergil stood up and amvled over to the window before sitting up, watching as the man threw open the fluttering curtain to let more light in. 

"I enjoyed my time here when I was younger," Vergil said, "I was hoping you would come to enjoy it with me."

V bristled at the thought, "You just want to take over the world- I can't let you do that."

Vergil laughed, "So you say, but I'm already so close. I just wanted to.... share it with you."

V couldn't believe his ears- Vergil had to be going mad! He kidnapped him! Smothered him with Urizen and Mundus following his every move! V scrambled for the door, grabbing for the knob and jiggling it open.

No such luck; V's shoulders sagged as he heard the lock stick, his knuckles white as he gripped the cold iron tighter. Over and over, but to no avail, the door was jammed. Whirling around, V pressed himself against the door, holding his hands flat in an effort to quell the tremble of his fingers.

He took a second to breathe: in. Out. Inhale. Exhale. His blood pounded in his ears but he tried to focus his energy- if Shadow or Griffon could sense it, they would come. They would come and get him out, just like last time.

It took a few minutes for him to realize nothing was happening. He couldn't feel Shadow slithering down his legs to drag lazily drom his skin and there was no familiar beat of wings as Griffon sprang from his back. 

"Missing something, aren't we?" Vergil said as V realized his familiars weren't coming for him.

Shit.

"Open this door," V demanded coldly. "Now."

Vergil cocked his head as if he was pondering the idea, and for a minute V was hopeful that he would, only to groan as the man pouted and said "I don't think so."

V let out a strangled noise, clenching his fists, "Let me out!"

"No."

He wasn't entirely sure what came over him in that instant. Even before the word left Vergil's mouth V was lunging for him, wrapping his hands around the man's throat with such desparation it scared him. Even as he felt himself shake with the effort, Vergil seemed unaffected, smiling as if someone told him a funny joke and then Vergil's large hand was grabbing both of V's wrists, squeezing until V heard the bones grinding and tears pricked the corners of his eyes as there was an audible snap. 

"Pity you weren't strong enough the first time," Vergil clicked his tongue as V slumped to the ground, cradling his wrists to his chest. Hjs nerves felt hot, the muscles swelling as they burned just under the skin, and he could feel the jagged edges of the bone threatening to puncture his flesh. 

Vergil stepped over him, V barely avoiding the obvious kick he sent to his ribs. Black dots invaded the corners of his vision as he tried turning his head towards the door. Dust matted against his face as he scratched his nose against the floor.

"I'll have your heart, V," Vergil warned, "you'll see just how powerful I can become with it."

V didn't say anything, allowing the pain to take him over completely until all he saw was darkness.

\------

It was midday by the time Nico slowed the van to a complete stop, stretching as she ordered everyone out to go for a pit stop. Lady and Trish had to practically drag Nero with them as Dante tried to get the large cat and the loudmouth bird to follow. 

They'd already combed the previous area from where V had disappeared; aside from green pus splattered alongside demon blood on the cement, there were no clues as to where Vergil may havr taken V first. They knew the final destination had to be his and Dante's childhood home, but Dante thought Vergil was trickier than that. 

"He had to have tried to at least woo V in some way before taking him back," Dante explained around a mouthful of cheeseburger, "With how that spell was worded, I doubt Vergil would want to cut corners."

Shadow was slinking around under the table, Dante slipping her a piece of bread when she nudged her nose against his boot. Despite the bird being annoying in his own right, Dante thought Shadow was pretty cool.

That tail of hers was pretty useful in a fight, anyhow. 

"So, what, your asshole brother is gonna wine 'n dine him until he decides to hand over his heart on a platter?" Griffon squawked, "You serious?!"

Dante rolled his eyes, leaning down to scratch Shadow behind her ears, "Listen, my mother tended to be very.... creative with her spells. Vergil liked to take them quite literally."

Dante could remember when they were younger- it was tea time with their mother and father and Sparda had been beaming as Eva told them one of the many fairytales she learned from a mortal storyteller- Cinderella was never exactly seen in a positive way, to put it mildly. 

"So your mom liked Disney movies, what's the point?" Nero asked with a mouthful of food. Dante reisisted the urge to laugh as Trish brushed stray bits of beef and melted cheese off her clothes. 

"Vergil took them as fact," Dante said, "like, he thought it was actual history- I can bet five bucks that he's gonna do it again with these spells."

Nico barked a laugh, "You even have five bucks? You don't even have runnin' water!"

"Last I checked the toilets don't flush either," Lady leaned into Nico's shoulder, snatching a fry off her plate.

Dante threw his burger down, "Do we really have time to be making fun of me, ladies?"

Nico shrugged, "Don't lose your tits, Grandpa, you make it too easy."

Dante frowned, but didn't say anything, instead stealing a glance at Nero. 

He was picking at his food now, the burger sitting mostly eaten on his plate. His face was pale and there were heavy bags under his eyes; normally he'd try to make a joke, but for some reason it didn't feel right. Which was odd because Dante always thought it was the right time for jokes. Lost your parents? Here's a quip! Found out your dad ruled Hell and expected you to follow? Sure, here's a one-liner for the road. Hey, what about the time dear old dad cut off your arm and left you for dead in your own garage? Sure, have at it. 

Even though they knew V for only a few days- he wanted to say three, but he wasn't exactly great at keepig time- Dante found he didn't have that fire in him right now. With the way Nero looked ready to burst into tears like it was a pivotal rom-com moment, well, it was almost like kicking a three-legged puppy. 

Dante jolted in his chair as he saw a large black paw swiping at his knee- looking down he found Shadow sitting calmly at his feet, a low whine escaping her as she placed her chin on his thigh, staring up at him with large, innocent eyes.

Right. Nero wasn't the only one to lose V too. He gave the cat a sad smile as he rubbed her head, Shadow's purring making his leg tingle.

"Y' know, it's weird you two didn't get dragged back with V too," Trish's voice cut through the air like a knife through bread, "Aren't you with him all the time?"

"Probably part of that tracking spell or drug thingy he put on V," Griffon explained, "The kid seemed to get sick every time we turned back so we ended up staying in these forms for the most part."

"Yeah, he wasn't exactly able to stand on his own when we found him," Dante snorted, recalling how V looked flustered and beet-faced as Nero bridal carried him into the van.

"Well," Lady chimed in, "the spell and the poem on the cane seem to mention support and sleeping alot."

Nero snorted, "A lot of people sleep, what's the point?"

Lady groaned, moving to slam her forehead against the plastic tabletop, "You're so stupid sometimes, I swear!"

"What?!"

Lady slid down her chair as she massages her forehead, "Sleep! Support! Mattresses!"

"You think Vergil is tryin' to do 'im?" Nico said a little too loudly.

Lady threw her hands up, "I mean! Drugging, eating his heart! Really, did none of you read or watch Snow White when you were kids?!"

A collective mumble went around the table, leaving Lady to grumble to herself about ruined childhoods. The burgers and fries had gone cold by now, having sat untouched as they tried piecing together Vergil's plan. Dante had to admit, Lady's idea was on the nose, but just thinking of Vergil trying to woo and subdue anyone in such a manner made his skin crawl. 

"For what it's worth, I think we should try the old old theatre near the parking garage," Nero offered.

"Why do you say that?" Dante scratched his chin.

"V likes poetry, and it's a theatre," Nero said as if it was obvious, "and with my dad trying to... seduce V, it makes sense he'd take him on a date first, right?"

Dante nodded, licking his lips as he looked at his nephew. A moment of silence passed before he said, "You know, I find it funny that you and your old man are going ham over the same guy."

Nero scowled, "Like you didn't flirt with him when he showed up-"

"Listen, flirting is my default, I can't help that!"

"-or whatever you two were doing the first night he was here! On the couch!" Nero's voise rose with every word, lips pulled back in a snarl as he jabbed an accusing finger into Dante's chest.

A chair screeched as it was pushed back, Nico shouting wildly, "That's my one rule! No fucking in the van! I can't believe you!"

Dante held his hands up in defense, "Nico, we didn't fuck, I swear-"

"You say that but how do I know you're telling the truth?!"

Dante opened his mouth, only to close it as Nico and Nero began to shout at each other; Griffon was perched on the table and poking at the leftover food while the weight pressing into the back of his knees told Dante that Shadow was trying to hide from the fight. Lady and Trish merely watched, confused looks being exchanged ever few seconds until their eyes met Dante's sheepish glare. 

There was going to be a lot of explaining to do when this was over, that was for sure.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't help myself and wrote a new chapter here take it before i change my mind because i am so tired rn

V found his wrists braced and wrapped when he came to next, something V really hoped wouldn't become a common occurence. While he didn't like it, he appreciated the gesture, not wanting to damage the nerves in his wrists personally. He was almost burrito-wrapped in the thin satin blankets, legs tangling as he slid off the bed, staggering over the puddle of fabric as he made his way to the door. Wall. Door. Whatever it was, V was furious that he couldn't find the stupid door. 

The braces made his wrists stiff, fingers jammed in place as slid the stupod Velcro straps against the obvious door outline. His hair hung limp against his forehead, tickling the end of his nose as he grew more and more frantic.

He would never admit to the minor tantrum he had after ten minutes of being unable to pry the damn thing open. He would never speak a word of the banging and screaming he did, making himself hoarse and no doubt damaging his body more than it already was.

God damn it.... How did he get here? What made him so special? V wiped his forehead, trying to ignore the itchiness of the braces scratching his skin. 

"Alright...." V hissed through clenched teeth, "Obviously, thus door will not open....."

Limbs suddenly feeling heavy, V dragged himself back across the room, plopping himself back down on the bed, panting as he tried to catch his breath. It felt odd, not feeling Shadow or Griffon dancing around on his skin, but if Vergil wanted power, well, they were pretty powerful on their own. He'd be practically unstoppable if he got a hold of them.

V shivered as he briefly considered Vergil with control over Nightmare. 

"Cold, are we?"

V's eyes snapped open to find Vergil glide into the room, hands clasped behind his back as he gave V an appraising look.

"There's no door," V said, "How-?"

"This is my home," Vergil bowed his head, "I can come and go as I please."

"And I can't."

Vergil smiled, squaring his shoulders, "I see you've finally understood why."

V shifted on the bed, sliding further up the mattress in an attempt to put as much space between them as possible. Vergil took it as an invitation to come closer, but V felt bwtter knowing he could still put some distance between them, no matter how little.

"What I understand," V said, "is that you're a power-hungry bastard."

"Oh? Do tell."

V huffed, almost slamming his back into the headboard. He could feel the iron dig into his spine but he didn't care; he didn't like the way Vergil was eyeing him, how his hands seemed to almost stretch and for a second he thought he coukd smell something odd permeating the air- he couldn't quite place the smell either, just that it made him dizzy, a slow throb starting in his temple to spread down his jaw. Slowly, he made his way back off the bed, never averting his gaze as the man followed his every move with shiny eyes. 

 "I don't know much," V gulped, taking a step to the left, "but from what I gather, you aren't exactly fun at parties."

Vergil paused, something akin to humor blooming slowly on his face and V found he didn't know what to do, as Vergil let out a harsh, clipped laugh, followed by a few more and suddenly he was hiccupping through gales of giggles, clutching his knees for balance as he doubled over with glee. 

It seemed like forever until Vergil's laughter subsided, thr man wiping tears from his eyes.

"I see my son and brother have rubbed off on you a bit," Vergil gasped between dying hiccups of noise, "I believe you, unlike them, enjoy the finer arts other than trading quips and slashing swords?"

V frowned. It was a simple query- teasing, but common knowledge between, well, everyone. Thr last time he'd been kept here, he never spoke to Vergil directly, but he always had the sense that he was being watched.

"And why would my interests be of importance to one such as yourself?" V shot back quickly.

 Vergil simply spun on his heel, a finger beckoning slowly behind him- he wanted V to follow him, but there wasn't anywhere to go-

His stomach broke the odd silence, and the longer V stared at the back of Vergil's head, the more he was sure Vergil was smiling to himself.

"I have somewhere I want to take you," Vergil said, "do follow."

V cocked his head- looking around, he still saw no exit other than the tightly sealed doorframe. Unless the man was talking about going through the window, but the thing was tiny, barely big enough for V himself to squeeze through.

There was a loud screech of metal on metal and V looked at Vergil to see he'd drawn the Yamato, already slicing twin lines in the air. The blue energy was sinister, goosebumps rising on his arms as V felt it pulling him forward, a harsh singing in his ears as he tried to resist.

"I believe you enjoy poetry, no?" Vergil asked nonchalantly, "There's a charming little theatre not too far from the city, I-"

"The Clustonbury Theatre," V breathed, "yes."

Vergil's eyes were full of mirth as he side-stepped the portal's window, gesturing for V to go through.

"After you, then."

\-------

Nero remembered the last time he was at the Clustonbury Theatre. It had been with Kyrie when they were children, allowed to explore outside of Fortuna for the first time (with an escort, of course. Credo would have murdered him if anything happened to Kyrie) and they had instantly become enraptured with the place. The theatre had high ceilings and colorful lights, rows upon rows of chairs and even balconies to overlook the large stage that sat grand in the middle of the room. It was unlike any theatre in Fortuna, where there had been nothing but gold and the plays described nothing except Sparda's history or the legend of Nelo Angelo. 

A few were even about Credo, which Nero and Kyrie always made fun of when everyone else was asleep and they couldn't get in trouble for staying up past their bedtime. 

The Clustonbury Theatre always felt alive in ways that Fortuna's couldn't: bright colorful costumes, varying actors of shapes and sizes and backgrounds, and the stories were always different, always something new to look forward to. Cinderella, The Magic Flute, and once they even saw a troupe that called themselves The Blue Man Group, wearing all black clothes and painting their skin varying shades of blue. Kyrie had the most fun at that one, as the leader od the group jumped from the stage and presented Kyrie with a beautiful orange flower that he tucked gently into her hair. 

As the van spat out dust and dirt, squealing to a stop at the theatre, Nero couldn't help but gasp. The high arches were snapped in half, wood dangling precariously from high places. Banners were practically shredded, the front half of the theatre completely collapsed to reveal the stage and a few remaining chairs inside. 

"You okay, Nero?" Dante clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"I just... remember coming here with Kyrie is all," Nero pushed his shock away, "I can't believe...."

"I'm sorry abour dragging you into this," Dante said softly, "and, uh, about the thing with V too."

Nero couldn't tear his gaze away from the ramshackle building but replied anyway, "Huh?"

"Back in the van?" Dante prompted, "I-I know I was being a bit too flirty with him, but we never did anything besides talk."

Nero snorted, "Yeah, kinda figured after stepping in spilled milk."

Dante grinned, and Nero was pulled into a headlock, Dante rubbing his fist roughly against Nero's head.

"You little shit! And you let everyone guilt trip me this whole time?"

Nero managed to break free, laughing, "Not the whole time, old man. Besides, you mostly did it to yourself."

Dante sighed, kicking the ground as they started walking, "Yeah, I suppose I deserve that one. We cool?"

"Yeah, we're cool, Uncle Dante."

The minute it left Nero's mouth, he wanted to take it back. The man made a show of tearing up, lower lip wobbling as he cried with such exaggeration, it sounded more like an animal was getting strangled than someone crying with joy.

"Hey!" Nico yelled, "Y'all idiots didn't break nothing, right?!"

"No, we-"

"I'm an uncle!" Dante hollered, throwing an arm around Nero, "He called me Cool Uncle Dante!"

"You call yourself that you bastard!" Nero shived him away violently, but he was laughing as Dante hit the ground with a hard "oomph!", Lady, Trish and Nico suddenly running to help Dante up. Shadow and Griffon lingered on the edges, the bird circling the cat as they tried to decided if they should join in or not. 

"Family feelings aside," Lady grunted as she pulled on Dante's arm, "Is this the place? The Clustonbury Theatre?"

Nero nodded, "Yeah. We should be on our guard though, my dad might have posted guards to protect him and V from any outsiders."

"So by 'guards' you mean the defective Angelo soldiers and by 'outsiders' you mean us," Trish counted on her fingers, "Sounds like your dad, for sure."

Nero grimaced- that sounded about right, in all honesty. From what he knew of him, Vergil tended to keep to himself, putting as much between him and the fight until he had no other choice.

Smart, if Nero thought about it. Annoying, but definitely smart. He opened his mouth to say something, clamping it shut when he heard violin music dancing on the horizon. Exchanging careful look with the group, Nero turned to look at the theatre- with the front of the buiilding gone, he could spot the Angelo soldiers, their bodies slow and steady as they moved in tandem.

"Violin music?" Lady squinted at the building, "Does V like violin?"

Nero shrugged, "Dunno. If he does, he never mentioned it."

Trish waved her arm and her own sword appeared in a flash of bright yellow light. Smirking, she jabbed the blade forward, flicking blonde hair from her eyes.

"Well?" she asked, "Let's go find out if V is really there."

"Okay-" Griffon suddenly perched on Nero's shoulder, Shadow slinking forward, "- but whay if we're wrong? What if it's a trap?"

Nero paused, "Is there a way you can sense him? Or whatever familiars do?"

The birs looked between everyone, hanging his beak low to pick at his feathers until he pulled out a rather large one, an iridescent blue with purple at the end, he dragged it under Nero's nose until Nero snatched it.

"Shadow and I can try going in first," Griffon explained, "it'll be easier for us to hide from the big guys until you lot show up."

"Okay, but why the feather?" Nico blurted, "This ain't exactly time for playing Davey Crockett."

"The feather is your connection to me and Shadow," Griffon said, "You'll feel it pulse the closer you get to us."

Nero looked down at the feather, "Has V tried this with you?"

"He doesn't have to, we're his familiars. It works a little differently with him."

"Right, with the tattoos?" Dante gestured to his chest, "I kinda wanna know how that works, by the way-"

"Are we going?" Trish barked impatiently, "Or are we just going to gossip? We don't have all day and that spell could be getting stronger by the minute!"

Nero winced as Griffon's talons scratched his shoulder as he pushed off and into the air. A sharp whistle rang from the bird and the two animals were surging ahead, leaving them to stand uselessly with a single feather.

Guess they were in for the wait, then. Nero could only pray that those two made it out alive. 


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New chapter!!
> 
> I should mention: please forgive any spelling mistakes in any chapters prior to this one and in the future, I am writing this story on my phone most of the time in the wee hours of the morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically thr summary of this chapter was supposed to be the author note i don't usually put summaries on my chapters

Griffon could feel the demonic energy bearing down on him as he flew closer to the theatre, keeping a well trained eye on Shadow as she ran on the ground below him. His wings struggled to flap as he soared and he could see Shadow getting tired as well, albeit a bit faster than the battle they had near the phone booth.

He was really hoping Nero and his friends wouldn't follow, but as he came to perch on one of the many broken chairs in the place, he knew he wouldn't really be able to stop him. He was a bit like Vergil in that sense: once they put their mind to something, he kept going until he got it, and sometimes he pushed a little further. The bird shook his feathers as he dared to peek around the place: a few fallen Angelo soldiers stood solomnly around the edges of the dirtied stage, weapons at the ready alongside their heavy armor. Looking down, he could see Shadow sniffing heavily at the air, and he could feel the tracking spell Vergil had managed to get V with, thr same one he had overheard Dante complaining about a few days ago when he'd slammed a door in V's face and gave him that nasty cut. 

He knew Dante was able to recognize Vergil's spell as well as he was able to- the guy was his brother, after all, and he (and Nero) had demonic ancestry to match Vergil's.

They were one happy family.

"You spot him yet?" Griffon dared to call down to his companion. Shadow merely slithered around a chair that had been snapped thoroughly, splinters and jagged edges forming from the half- cut legs and sawed off backs. 

So that was a no. The soldiers were not doing anything as he and Shadow investigated, but he could hear that violin music up close now, sounding as if it were around the corner in another room, making you want to investigate before the performance ended.

Puffing up his feathers, Griffon flew over to where he heard the music, jumping as his talons almost grazed one of the Angelo's armored shoulder. Shadow was quick to follow, tail flicking curiously as she nosed her way over to a dusty red curtain, pushing it aside with surprising agility. 

There was still no sign of V or Vergil, and the soldiers were really starting to creep him out. Shadow's hackles were raised as she narrowed bright golden eyes at the demonic giants, careful to avoid them as she meandered about the dusty, creaky stage. 

"Alright- see if you can figure out where the violin music is comin' from!" Griffon called down to Shadow, "I'm gonna check to see if Lover Boy and his friends decided to follow."

\------

V didn't know why he decided to blindly follow Vergil through the house, the promise of the Clustonbury Theatre in the air almost like a threat, but he did it anyway. He didn't really enjoy the idea of staying alone in that room, with no door and only one window. He could feel more demonic presences as they walked through the old building, making V shake and shiver with each step.

The house was unfathomably old. The dust seemed to be layered with dust of its own, thr paintings and cloths in eacg room were faded to muted, ugly colors with time and the windows were dirtied beyond repair. Grime on the furniture made his skin crawl, an odd moldy smell tickling his nose as crinkled and cracked wallpaper peeled away to reveal rotted wooden beams and an array of flies and gnats. 

Vergil moved with the grace of an aristocrat, as if his house wasn't threatening to collapse in on itself with each step they took. Either he was accustomed to the smells as well or he genuinely didn't mind, having possibly lived there all these years.s

"I thought you said we were attending the theatre?" V asked stupidly. "I assumed you were using the Yamato to take us there."

"I was going to, yes," Vergil drawled, "but decided otherwise."

"Otherwise?"

Vergil gave him a coy glance over his shoulder, "You didn't really think I would let you leave this house, did you?"

V frowned, steps faltering. He felt a slight twinge in his knee and wished desperately for his cane- he'd hate to collapse like an idiot in front of such a man, if he was being honest.

"I thought-"

"Well I thought we could do something a little different," Vergil cut him off, "You know I seek the apple. I seek the power it holds but Mundus and Urizen didn't exactly fit the bill, dare I say it."

That made V's heart skip a beat. Is that why he was here a second time? Why Vergil was so adamant on practically wooing him? It made him feel more than uncomfortable, especially since Nero's....

Well, since Nero's kiss. The way he'd tried to be gentle in the phone booth- he could still feel Nero's breath ghosting on his own lips, his face ever so close as he strained not to fall on top of him. It was surreal, thinking back on it, how fast everything had happened.

"And what makes you think I can help with that?" V replied with a distracted air, his head swimming as Nero suddenly filled his vision- his smile, his blush, the way his dimples formed when he snarked at Dante or how his eyes lit up when Nico presented him with a new arm; his temples started to throb as his thoughts ran wild.

"I am not powerful enough to handle the power of the apple just yet," V thought he heard Vergil say, "but that's where you come in."

V raised a hand to his temple, brushing his hair away from his face as he tried to pinpoint where exactly the pain was coming from. His fingers ached slightly, a small throb on his index finger- did he touch something? Why did everything hurt all of a sudden?

"I'll have your allegiance soon, V," Vergil sighed, "Still hard to believe that someone such as yourself managed to conjure and hold onto three familiars at once, or decipher my mother's spellbook."

V blinked, staggering over to lean against the wall. He thought Vergil was going to take him to the theatre.... he thought he could hear....

"....Violin?" V breathed with a raspy throat.

Vergil grinned, humming in delight as he knelt down to look V in the face, "Yes- I heard you enjoyed the violin. It'll be comforting to hear for the next few days."

Before V could protest or even ask what he was talking about, he already felt himself blacking out again, thr last thing he saw being Vergil's arched eyebrow and ever sly smile.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow it's been too long since I updated this story I highly doubt anyone is even reading anymore lmao

The theatre was a complete and total failure. 

Yeah, they mamaged to take out the Angelo soliders before the theatre could get more destroyed than it already was- there were a few close calls when Lady's Kalina Ann guns stalled once or twice amd Nico- despite trying her best- wasn't really able to do more than hife in the van after one of the soldier's blades got a little too close for her liking. So, yeah, they managed to get some leeway in Vergil's ranks, but Nero didn't think it was worth it. V wasn't at the theatre.

"This," Nero groaned in frustration as he sheathed his sword, "was an absolute waste of time."

Shadow was pacing anxiously near the door of the van, allowing Nico to slide rough fingers across her fur. Griffon was perched on the hood of the van, feathers ruffled as the team regrouped. The magic of the plucked feather had worm off instantaneously the minute Nero launched himself into battle, rendering the thing useless. 

"Well, at least we have a few extra red orbs?" Lady tried to cheer him up, "We can upgrade our gear, get new skill sets before facing Vergil head on."

Nero pressed his lips into a thin line; the battle with the Angelos had almpst done them in. Aside from Nico's inability to fight and Lady's rusted weapons, he thought they had a good chance of winning.

He was wrong, apparently, as he watched Dante trying to brush large chunks of demom spunk and scorched metal bits out of Trish's long blonde hair. He was having a difficult time making the comb cooperate, catching how the blood staining Dante's hands made getting a good grip impossible as he nearly tore the demon woman's hair out of her scalp.

"Dante!" Trish snapped at him for the fifth time when he yanked particularly harder than necessary.

"Sorry, sorry," Dante apologized with a chuckle, "Guess I'll need to go back to beauty school."

"If you get all the pieces out I can clean 'em up," Nico offered, "Make some sweet singin' blades that'll really getcha goin'."

Nero pinched the bridge of his nose, "And what exactly will swords do to rescue V?" Nero moaned, "We wasted so much time already, we have to keep going!"

"We don't even know where Vergil took him, Nero," Lady pointed out, "And Griffon's little tracker spell didn't work either. He wasn't here."

Nero knew it wasn't Lady's fault. It wasn't her fault that V had been taken and it wasn't her fault that those Angelo soldiers nearly beat them into the ground and it wasn't her fault that Vergil was apparently so close to just fucking eating V's god damned heart and taking over the world. But that didn't matter as he found himself yelling at the top of his lungs, his chest burning as his face turned red. His limbs ached as he gesticulated wildly, snot bubbling in his nostrils that he didn't bother to wipe away as it dripped down his chin.

"Then we keep going, damn it!" Nero snapped, stalking over to where Lady sat dejectedly, "We keep going until we find him because I am not letting my piece of shit dad ruin my life again!"

No one said anything as Nero loomed menacingly over Lady, spit flying from his mouth as he practically screamed, "That bastard hurt Kyrie and then he up and left when I was born! You know how much that sucks?!" 

One glance at Lady's bewildered expression should have been enough for Nero to tone it down. But he quelled the nagging at the back of his mind, allowing himself to continue as his throat itched as his chest started to burn. His veins sang angrily as his flesh hand started to tingle ever so slightly. 

"And then he has the nerve to show up and steal the Yamato from me!" Nero cackled, eyes bugging from their sockets, "He cut off my fucking arm! He wants to kill everyone and myself for no god damn fucking reason so I'm sorry if I want to keep going but V doesn't deserve that shit and I'm going whether you-"

Halfway through, Nero faltered as he was suddenly grabbed so violently from behind he almost fell on top of Lady; shaking a bit, he reached around to find Dante trying to hug him from behind, strong arms flexing as he squeezed, Dante's breathing heavy in his hear. 

"Get off me, old man," Nero tried to jerk away from his grasp, only encouraging Dante to hold on, tighten his grip.

"We're gonna help you get V back," Dante confirmed with a quivering voice, "but you gotta understand that we're in this together. We've all lost things to Vergil and we can't just go in guns blazing. Not this time."

Oh.

Nero felt tears prick the corners of his eyes as he resched up to gice Dante am awkward hug back. Sometimes, well, Nero forgot that Dante knew Vergil longer than he did- yeah, he was Vergil's son, but Dante was his brother. He and Vergil grew up together and even now they were still constantly trying to kill each other.

"I...I'm sorry, Dante," Nero managed to get out, then with a watery glance to Lady, "I'm sorry, Lady."

She offered him a warm smile, her eyes crinkling at the corners, "No harm done, Nero. I understand."

The look on Lady's face made Nero wonder: was there anything between her and Vergil? Did his dad break her heart in some way, just like he seemed to do with everyone else in their little motley crew?

Sighing heavily, Nero pried Dante off of him, rolling his shoulders as he picked up his head.

"Griffon?"

The bird ruffled his feathers, "Whassup, kiddo?" 

Nero gestured to his wings, "You said the tracking spell you have me worked differently with V, right? How so?"

Griffon scraped his talons on the table aa he went to perch, Shadow slipping under to hide in the shade. With a cough, Griffon said, "Okay, so you know how his tattoos shift into us? It works something like that- the color will change the closer we get- white, like how his hair turns when he summons Nightmare."

Trish leaned forward, interested, "Nightmare? There's more of you?"

Griffon nodded, "Yeah- V used Eva Sparda's books to learn how to summon us last time he ran away from Vergil and he wasn't exactly too happy about it."

Nero remembered faintly a mention of the third summon; if he remembered correctly, V had never summoned it before during their travels, but judging from the sympathetic glare exchanged between the cat and bird, V probably couldn't handle Nightmare for too long of a time. 

Maybe if he could, he'd have been free from Vergil's grasp already instead of having to wait for someone to rescue him like in those fairy tales Lady mentioned; Nero smirked at the idea of V just patiently waiting at a tower window while he and the gang rolled up in thr van and made their way to the top- some swoonijg would occur once Nero barged in and as always, a kiss, or-

"Heya!" Nico's agitated growl pulled Nero out of the fantasy, perfectly manicured fingers making attempts to dig themselves up his nose, "Stop with those goofy grins, yer freakin' me out!"

Nero felt heat crawl up his neck to burn his cheeks as he coughed into his fist- he pointedly ignored Dante's smug "I knew what you were thinking about look" as he hacked up a lung.

Honestly, he hated when Dante was right and him being right about liking V in that way was a little unnerving. It was only recently they became closer as uncle and nephew, so yeah, it was still a bit awkward....

Well. Anyway.

Pushing the thought from his mind, Nero rolled his shoulder, reveling in the cracks that popped from his joints.

"Alright," Nero turned to Griffon, "Let's try that tracking spell again, yeah?"

The gleam in Griffon's beady eyes was all the answer he needed before reaching over to pluck another feather from his wing.

Nero prayed, as they began setting up the spell that V would actually be there this time or he didn't know what he would do if he wasn't.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back with a new chapter!!!

V was getting tired of blacking out all the time. 

Granted, he wasn't entirely sure at this point how long he'd been a "guest" in what he now knew to be the Sparda family home, but judging from how his wrists were still braced, it couldn't be more than a day or two. The bone didn't even feel broken anymore; V slowly took the braces off to reveal wrists as skinny as they'd ever been, no sign of internal bleeding or swelling anywhere to be seen. His tattoos, however, were not as dark as he knew they should be.

So that meant Griffon and Shadow have been disconnected, V thought, although I can still feel Nightmare inside.

V huffed. That was a good thing, he supposed. The thought of Vergil Sparda controlling something as powerful as Nightmare put him on edge, considering Vergil already managed to bring Mundus and Urizen of all creatures to their knees, bending them to his will. Blinking, V look around- if he woke up, Vergil had to put him somewhere, after all. 

He found he wasn't in the hall anymore, but back in the bedroom from earlier. Despite the extravagence, the room was covered in dust, tickling his nose and making him want to sneeze. V looked over at the window- still too small to get through, still the only one. Striding over to the opposite wall to find once again no door. 

Well, he knew there had to be a door, but Vergil had to have sealed it somehow, cast a glamour or illusion or something. The wood was rough against his palm as he felt for any signs of a crack or seal to no avail. With a frustrated groan, V threw his hand down and stalked back to the bed, head in his hands as he sat down. 

His finger still pulsed, and he felt it as he pressed his knuckles to his forehead, kneading out the beginnings of a headache. The last thing he remembered was Vergil promising to take him to the theatre and then he didn't

V sighed, muttering under his breath, "Come on, V.... now is not the time to get lost in your thoughts...."

The pulse in his finger was getting almost painful now the longer he sat there- what exactly had he touched? The spellbook, that was flat leather, and the corners had been rounded with age and time. His clothes were out of the question and Griffon knew to keep his claws to himself. Rubbing his nose, V let his mind wander to when he held on to Nero, how he clinged like a swooning maiden to Nero's coat after they had fallen in the phone booth-

"No, V!" V hissed to himself, "Don't.... don't think about him right now....!"

V had to admit, Nero felt... nice, if that was the right term. His lips had been moist and surprisingly warm and if V was honest, well, he wouldn't mind kissing Nero again if he got the chance. Fingers ghosted over his lips and V closed his eyes.

"Oh, he who wishes for what he can't have," V murmured, "Nero, I hope to see thee soon."

He also hoped that he had that stupid cane; walking without it wasn't too horrible, but his back ached and his knee wasn't doing him any favors, not with the way Vergil had been throwing him about. It physically hurt, how much he missed the feel of the raven figurehead against his palm, even how Griffon and Shadow felt against his skin as they waited to be summoned and-

Wait.

V picked his head up, staring at his hand. Knuckles pressed harshly against sallow skin, bony fingers twisted in pain and the longer he stared at his index finger, he could finally see it. 

A small cut, almost imperceivable right in the center, almost as if he had been absentmindedly poked by a needle.

"Hmmm," V hummed as he narrowed his eyes, "Sneaky, Vergil. But I can be sneakier."

V could feel Nightmare raging under his skin, the creature adamant that Vergil pay for cursing him; V ignored Nightmare, but it did worry him a bit- under the spell, V had no idea how it would affect him. Vergil seemed convinced he had to eat his heart before eating the apple, but then that begged the question: 

"What exactly do you see in me, Vergil Sparda?" V turned his head to face the space where the door should be.

"I see you figured it out," Vergil stepped out of the shadows, a flash of blue taking away the illusion he had hidden behind. "The drug in the cane you stole was supposed to render you immobile."

V smirked, "I guess my body grew accustomed to the substance the more I relied on the cane."

"Unfortunately," Vergil agreed, clasping his arms behind his back, "but the blacking out? How do you expect to keep up if it happens so often?"

V scoffed, turning to look at the window.

"Griffon and Shadow know my scent. They can track me."

"And if they fail?" Vergil taunted, "As I recall, you aren't actually connected to them right now."

"No thanks to you."

"Perhaps," Vergil was smug, eyes roving over V's form as he sat hunched over on the edge of the bed. V felt his skin crawl as Vergil took a step forward, scooting back away from him as he added, "but you can make other connections. New connections, better ones."

"With you?" V forced a laugh, "I think not."

"Pity. I like to think I'm rather good company," Vergil pouted.

V didn't miss the mirth in his eyes as he shot back, "Good company doesn't drug and kidnap people."

"Had to get you away from my son and brother somehow," Vergil said, "although I should have used a stronger spell on the Nidhogg to make sure they didn't even come close to you."

V growled but didn't say anything, choosing instead to glare at the window. A slight breeze blew in, making V shiver and making his arms break out into goosebumps. Before V even considering moving, Vergil was suddenly there, the mattress dipping under the added weight as Vergil shucked off his coat to wrap around V's shoulders. 

V looked to see teal leather with gold hemming, but all he could remember was a scratchy blue blanket from a few days ago, Nero's arm wrapped almost protectively around him as they discussed buying food. 

Vergil, in contrast, was cold and biting, his hand digging in possessively into V's shoulder, a cruel reminder that he was not with Nero and if Vergil had his way, he never would be. 

"You'll come around eventually, darling," Vergil's breath was hot on his skin, lips a hairs breath away from the shell of his ear, "they always do in the end."


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter after so long away- i have been dealing with some real life things but wanted to come back to writing this fic because it's probably my favorite that I'm currently writing
> 
> Anywho, I hope you enjoy this chapter!!

"The mausoleum?"

Dante picked his head up at Trish's question. The group had been following the bird diligently, using the spell Griffon had given them to keep track. Blue and purple feathers fell in line with crackling red pawprints (courtesy of Shadow as she slithered ahead) and they found themselves farther and farther away from Red Grave City and the Clustonbury Theatre. As they ventured out of their familiar town, they were able to truly see the damage Vergil's plan had caused.

"It's the only place currently not affected by the Quliphoth tree," was Griffon's answer, "and it's near Vergil's old house, so he's probably keeping V there in hopes we get distracted by the stinking tree and leave him be."

Right. The old Sparda mansion; Dante hadn't been there in a while, probably not since it burned down all those years ago, now that he thought about it. The flames licking fine polishes ivory walls, smoking through satin curtains and broiling through polished ballrooms and parlors..... if Dante took a second, he thought he could still smell the smoke, acrid on his nose, making his eyes water.

He could still hear his mother screaming, crying out as she ran through the house.

"Dante!"

Being carried down a set if crumbling stairs, his mother's long blonde hair hanging in his face as she tried to keep him from inhaling the smoke. Being almost lovingly tucked deep into a closet, hidden amongst leather coats and long swishy dresses- Dante could still feel his grip tightening around ome of his mother's high heeled shoes, as if he needed something to protect himself with, protect her with too.

"Dante!"

His mother's eyes had been sad when she gave him one last kiss on thr forehead, right? Before she shut the closet door on him and darted back into the frey, crying oh so desparately for Vergil- where was he, where-

"Dante! Get a hold of yourself!"

Lady was shoving him roughly, and the final image of Eve Sparda's burnt and crying face dissipated, replaced with a black fringe of hair and a worried pair of mismatched eyes. The woman had both hands tight on his shoulders, shaking him as hard as she could as she called his name. 

"Lady....?" Dante licked his lips, blinking owlishly at his friend.

"You checked out for a second there," Lady said, "You okay?"

Dante opened his mouth to answer, then closed it, averting his gaze to look at the feather Griffon had just dropped. 

It had been so long since he'd been home, since he'd seen Vergil too. His gut clenched with a newfound panic, his mind racing as he remembered that night, how his brother had been so angry.

An angry Vergil was never a good Vergil, but Dante didn't think Vergil would want to go back home either. 

Would he?

"I dunno," he said honestly, "I haven't been home in years."

Trish scoffed, "Stands to reason. That place was a hotbed of mommy and daddy issues for the both of you."

"Could say the same about you," Dante retorted, pulling himself out of Lady's grasp, "but we have to go back. Vergil has V and the apple, we're falling behind."

Everyone didn't seem to want to argue, surprisingly, falling back into step as they made their trek down the main road. The blacktop was cracked with faded paint and Quliphoth roots, blood leaking and pulsing every few feet. The buildings grew sparser the farther they went, splintered in half from demonic energy or halfway to collapsing on their own. 

Dante watched Shadow and Griffon as they moved, Griffon shedding a new feather every few seconds; they seemed to pulse white as they neared their destination, like Griffon said but considering they had only left Red Grave a little while ago, the feathers wouldn't really start glowing until they made it to mausoleum itself. Right now, they look to be almost an ashy gray, just on the verge of glowing snow white. Shadow's very essence seemed to work in tandem withe spell as well, as each footprint she made rose from the blacktop in a mystical wisp of black and red smoke, almost emanating like visible heatwaves in the dead of summer. 

Dante grinned to himself; V definitely fit the bill of Eve Sparda's favorite tale. Tall, and lanky, the guy was the very definition of pale, and his hair was the darkest black he'd ever seen, darker than the night sky in winter and as deep and thick as what Dante probably thought the void was- no, a black hole.

That was it, a black hole. Voids were merely a concept, a societal construct to describe anything from space to death to someone's hair. 

"What are you so smug about?" Lady jostled him with a gentle elbow. Dante shrugged.

"Just thinking about what you said earlier," Dante replied.

"About what? The spell?" Lady's eyes lit up with glee, "Honestly your mom could be a bit of a romantic, basing her spells off of Snow White of all things."

"Yeah, she was like that," Dante chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "I remember when we were kids, Vergil genuinely thought some old goat had sneaked into our garden to poison all the apple trees. Refused to let mom touch even one of them until a year had passed and he was certain no one was tampering with them."

Lady laughed, eyes crinkling in the corner as she tried to contain a snort, "You're kidding!"

"One hundred percent true!" Dante insisted, "After reading us Beauty and the Beast one night, he kept trying to catch all our furniture coming to life- caught him talking to mom's hairbrush once too, thanking it for keeping her hair so nice and shiny."

Lady was hollering for breath now, her cheeks pinched as she turned an interesting shade of red. Dante waved off Nico and Nero's confused glances when they turned around to see what had Lady in stitches, while Trish rolled her eyes and picked up the pace, her heels clicking with determination as she joined the other two upfront. 

"You good?" Dante raised an eyebrow as Lady wheezed, laughter dying down as she tried to catch her breath.

"Yeah, yeah..." Lady wiped at her eyes, "sorry, but that is so unlike Vergil, considering-" here she made a vague gesture "- you know."

Dante pursed his lips, "Like i said, Vergil takes things quite literally. If he's basing the curse and this whole apple thing off Snow White? V is in bugger trouble than we thought."

Silence hung awkwardly over them for a moment, Lady adjusting the strap on her Kalina Ann as it slid down her arm.

"You think V is Vergil's Snow White," Lady said bluntly after a moment.

"You have the whole Snow White thing going on too," Dante pointed out, "don't sell yourself short."

"Been there, done that," Lady blew a raspberry, "I'm old news to Vergil though. V is something new, that always catches Vergil's eye."

 "Wait until he hears his son got to play Prince Charming first," Dante cackled, slinging an arm around Lady's shoulders, "that is no gonna go over well!"

"Yeah...." Lady trailed off, leaning her head on Dante's shoulder. Her hair tickled his neck, her earring pressing into the dip of his collarbone. 

Up ahead, Trish was walking with Griffon and Shadow, looking like they were playing the most intense round of the Silent Game ever created. Nero and Nico were stomping around without a care, throwing insults and trading blows, their voices grating on Dante's ear as they carried across the abandoned streets.

"Does V know of Vergil's plan?" Dante asked, "I mean, he probably knows Vegril was angry that some random mundie managed to decipher and use our mom's spellbook-"

"Dante, the guy already escaped from Vergil once before, he isn't dumb," Lady rolled her eyes, "we just have to make sure he can escape again."

"From my house," was what Dante wanted to say, but he chose not to, instead giving Lady a reassuring side hug, watching as Trish leaned down to pet Shadow; Nico and Nero were still yelling at each other, some unintelligible mechanic gibberish that Dante couldn't even begin to comprehend- he was always more of an action man anyway, leaving all that stuff to the pros. 

As if reading his mind, Lady said, "You don't want to go home, do you? After the fire?"

Dante sighed, "There's nothing left for us there. And I don't want to see what Vergil has done to it if he really is camping out there, y' know?"

Dante almost jumped when Lady pressed a small quick kiss to his shoulder, "You'll do it for Nero, though. That's his happily ever after that Vergil has locked up in there."

"The things an uncle does for his nephew," Dante agreed, smiling at Lady, "come on- we should catch up before Nico bludgeons Nero to death with a wrench."

\------

"Apple or pecan?"

V picked his head up from the pillow, putting on what he hoped was his best sneer, "What?"

Vergil was leaning on the wall on the other side of the room, looking as smug as ever with his crossed arms and white hair gelled back. The more V looked at, the more he wanted to cut it off; it made Vergil's face look more gaunt, more demonic somehow, and so totally unlike Nero's.

It was hard to believe the two were related, honestly.

"For dessert, darling," Vergil purred, "if we are to dine I'd like to know your preferences."

V blurted unintelligably, spittle flying everywhere as he pushed himself into a sitting position, green eyes burning with a newfound fury.

"You want to know what my favorite pie is after kidnapping me twice?!" V was incredulous, "God damn-!"

"Don't be like that," Vergile clicked his tongue, shaking his head as he pushed himself off the wall, "anger does not become you."

"World domination does not 'become' you either," V snorted, blowing strands of black haur out of his eyes. Vergil only made a noise with his tongue, ambling over to the bed; V froze, shoulders tense as he watched Vergil near the foot of it, leaning down with a crooked hand only to swipe up the teal and gold jacket V had discarded once Vergil had disappeared earlier. 

"My mother always said the way to a man's heart was his stomach," Vergil teased, "and as you deciphered and used my mother's spellbook, I assumed-"

V blinked at him. He had to be joking. There... there was no way Vergil was being serious, right? He allowed the man to ramble, and ramble he did, something about a distant father and idiot of a brother and how his mother had left him to burn in a house fire and-

"Oh, do shut up."

Vergil's teeth made a crack as he snapped his jaw shut in surprise, "Excuse me?"

It took V a moment to realize that he had said anything to warrant the unblemished surprise on Vergil's face; the way his mouth turned down ever so slightly at the corners was reminiscent of Nero when he had griped at Nico about one of her experimental Devil Breakers, and the lines on Vergil's forehead creased in tandem with the curve of his eyebrows just as Nero's did when he was asking a question.

"I said shut up," V managed to find his voice, uneasy as Vergil squared his ahoulders, "I've no desire to hear your life story."

"But you'll hear my son's?" Vergil said coldly, then before V could protest, "Don't think I didn't catch you in that phone booth, you little mongrel. Nero and Dante know as well as anyone that I have eyes and ears everywhere."

"What happened to darling?" V swallowed, fisting the blankets as he eyed Vergil with a newfound wariness, "Don't like that you have competition? Who's winning, I may add."

Vergil chuckled, "And what is he winning? I destroyed their city, I have the Yamato. Mundus and Urizen are in my grasp- not to mention the very apple for which you are here."

"I am not here for anything," V snarled, "nor do I want anything you have to offer."

V had seen Vergil angry, but looking at him now, borderline furious, the resemblances to Nero were uncanny, the likeness to Dante was admirable and the energy radiating from him was debilitating, choking him as it crawled up his arms and around his neck, making his eyes roll back in his head as he succumbed to darkness.

Damn.

He was really hoping Vergil wouldn't knock him out again, but this was getting ridiculous. The magic seemed to relent as he fell back onto the bed, allowing him to cough and wheeze as he struggled to breathe properly.

"Careful with your words," Vergil hissed, "they could very well be the end of you and we don't want that. Now tell me: apple or pecan?"

V allowed himself to think, breathing heavily. His lungs burned and his throat felt tender.

With the most defiant glare he could muster, V turned his head to look Vergil in the eye before practically spitting at him, "Lemon meringue."

Vergil huffed angrily, slinging his coat over his shoulder before unsheathing the Yamato from his hip; V saw his knuckles turning white as his fist shook, the blue magic hovering around the hilt.

"Be that way if you want," Vegril said calmly, a slight edge to his tone, "but I'll have your heart and then you'll see where your little games get you." A screech of metal and gust of cold wind made V shiver as he watched Vergil slice through the air with the katana- on the other side he could see what he thought was a dining area, with pristine oak chairs and a table, an elaborate chandelier twinkling from the ceiling. 

Oh, shit.

"Wait-" V rolled off the bed, reaching out like a madman only for Vergil to slap his hand away.

"You made your choice," Vergil reminded him, "I'll have one of the Angelo soldiers retrieve you for dinner."

And then Vegril stepped through the portal, leaving V alone in the bedroom once more as the magic sealed the tear shut, disappearing in a wink of royal blue. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Playing through the series i love Lady a lot and I really wanted to get across her friendship with Dante in this chapter, so I hope I succeeded at least marginally on that front lmaoo
> 
> More V is coming soon!! I promise!!!

**Author's Note:**

> I know this chapter ended up feeling a little more Dante x V than Nero x V but the main pairing is Nero x V, I promise there will be more of it in the next chapter (along with more Nico!)


End file.
